Ranma's 123 Change
by Dreamingfox
Summary: The trip to Okinawa takes a dark turn as mercenaries come gunning for Ranko. Ranma x Change 123
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes –

This is a Ranma ½ x Change 123 fic. Takes place after chapter 15 of Change 123 and after the end of Ranma ½'s manga run.

I of course don't own either manga series, I'm just using characters and ideas from both for the purpose of entertainment. I'm not getting any thing for this other then some bad reviews (if I'm lucky) and maybe a few grateful readers.

*****

The soft gray glow of the monitor illuminated the middle Tendo daughter's room as she finished calculating the family's monthly expenses and income. Sighing as she tabulated the overwhelming expenses from the failed (on more levels then she cared to acknowledge) wedding Nabiki wondered just what they'd have to cut out of the budgets for the next couple of months just to make it back into the black.

Hearing the familiar ding that her web browser used to alert her of her new emails Nabiki's mood brightened as she read the subject line – _Looking for Master Level Martial Artist_. Opening the email she smiled as she knew the perfect person for the job.

Typing out her reply she attached her growing file filled with Ranma's exploits. Though she knew that most sane people would read the list in disbelieve, from what she'd read of the request she knew that the sender was truly looking for someone exceptional, and Ranma was definitely an exceptional martial artist.

*****

Standing on the roof of Saotome High School Ranma couldn't help but feel the irony of the situation. Despite his ability to break down secret techniques and quickly learning them, Ranma was anything but an academic. The Arts were his passion, martial arts, not the other arts, which didn't sit well with academia. Thus the odd feeling that he got standing on the roof of a high school with his family name attached to it.

"You must be Ranma Saotome," a blond youth said as he emerged from the stairwell. "I find it hard to believe that someone my age could be such an accomplished master of martial arts."

Ranma shrugged. Eyeing the blond contact the cursed martial artist could tell that they were complete opposites (minus the fact that the blond was actually appeared to be in shape and not a lump of flab or some sickly nerd). It was clear from the way that he held himself that the blond was a chick magnet, though a different kind that Ranma was.

"You must be Kannami," Ranma returned with a slight bow.

The blond paused at the lack of formality that the martial artist displayed. Clearly he was little more then a mindless jock, but still, even thugs had some form of formality.

"So, why do you need a 'Master level martial artist'?" Ranma asked.

"You've seen the video files that I sent you, right?"

It was Ranma's turn to blink as he wondered just what Nabiki had failed to tell him (or what he'd failed to listen to given his willingness to quickly leave Nerima after the failed wedding).

"I find that actually fighting someone is better then watching videos," the martial artist replied.

Sighing, Kannami pulled out his laptop. Waiting for it to load up the required video he turned the computer so that Ranma could watch the brief fight between a fierce brunette and some local thugs.

Unimpressed Ranma yawned. "I knew there was a reason Nabiki didn't give me anything to watch." Seeing the slightly irritated look on the blond boy's face Ranma paused. "Did I say that aloud?"

Kannami nodded. Judging from the martial artist's reaction it was clear that Ranma wasn't interested in Motoko's fights regardless of the persona that she was using. But was he uninterested because she was fighting thugs or because he didn't think she was up to his level, that was the question.

Watching another fight as several punks beat up on a scrawny runt which then provoked the busty brunette to break out a can of whoop ass on them Ranma noted the subtle differences in posture and then in style as she used jujitsu instead of karate.

"That's why I'm looking for a master," Kannami explained. Clicking on another file he showed it to Ranma.

"That's him, the same guy that had to be saved by the girls?" the martial artist asked, seeing a buff Kamen Rider wearing fighter against a busty brunette. "He's got potential," the pigtailed youth admitted. "But he's years away from being in the same league as the girls."

"True," the blond seconded. "That's where you come in – I've heard that you're the best. If you're half as good of an instructor as you are a martial artist then I think Kosukegawa's in good hands."

"Of course I'm the best," Ranma repeated. "But it's a long way to Nerima. There's now way that he's going to be able to make the trip out to the dojo every day. If he really wants to get good fast he's going to have to spend every day training just to build up his endurance just so that he can learn some of the basic moves."

The blond nodded as he considered the martial artist's expert opinion. "That's why I want you to come to school here – I can have your transfer papers filled out and filed tonight; I can pay you weekly and cover your expenses for an apartment and cell phone."

Ranma blinked as he weighed the benefits of the job against the pitfalls. Sure, he could work on developing his meager teaching skills, and it would be nice to get away from the insanity of Nerima, but would he lose his fighter's edge without all the high skilled and powerful fighters constantly challenging him? But he would get away from the Kuno family, and the Amazons.

"Deal," Ranma said finally.

"Deal," Kannami repeated. Handing Ranma his back pack he added, "You can have this. Your first signing bonus is on the credit card, a cell phone – you can use it if you want, but please answer whenever I call, the information for the bank account that I'll deposit your weekly pay in, a map of the area, and keys to the apartment I've rented for you. The paperwork should be processed on Monday, giving you the weekend to get used to the area."

Again Ranma blinked as he took in everything that the blond had said. Rummaging through the pack he quickly pulled out the credit card and cell phone, stuffing the two items into his pocket before stashing the rest in stuff space.

It was Kannami's turn to blink as he watched the martial artist open up a pocket dimension just to store the small pack that he'd given the pigtailed boy. Quickly composing himself the intelligent blond watched as Ranma leapt over the security fence along the edge of the roof. Rushing to the fence he listened as several startled students screamed then went silent as Ranma gently landed before leaping over the school's concrete wall and into the streets beyond.

_I'm definitely going to have to look over his file again_, the blond thought as he considered the information Nabiki Tendo had provided him. _But a water based curse that turns him into a girl or back into a guy, that's just unbelievable_.

*****

As Ranma wandered the streets the cursed martial artist couldn't help but think about the obvious differences between the districts. Back in Nerima no one thought anything of him (or any of the others) leaping over fences (or Ryoga smashing through them) and off of roofs as the skilled martial artists traveled through the city, nor did they mind when he walked on their fences. But here in… where was he again? Blinking, he almost felt as though he'd channeled the eternal lost boy. Though Ranma didn't know where he was it wasn't because he was lost, it was because he hadn't bothered to ask what ward or district they were in rather then being genuinely lost like Ryoga usually was.

Only the rumbling of his empty stomach stopped him from mindlessly wandering and not noting where he was and the landmarks around him as he looked for a vendor, fast food joint or convenience store. Spotting a vendor he rushed over and examined the menu. Rummaging through his pocket Ranma pulled out what little yen actually had on him. Counting the coins he knew that he didn't have enough for an order as the old man didn't except plastic.

Disappointed, Ranma at least was able to get the directions to a nearby store. Purchasing a bowl of instant ramen he quickly filled it with boiling water. Figuring that it wouldn't hurt to get to know the city as he waited for the ramen to soak he made it out to the street before spotting several bikers. The sound of breaking wood and rowdy cheers brought his attention back to the bikers as they circled the helpful vendor.

"Definitely not Nerima," he mumbled as he casually (for him, though quickly for anyone else) walked over to the disturbance.

It was clear that the bikers were terrorizing the old merchant, possibly even trying to hold him up or extort some money from him. Swinging aluminum and wooden bats the thugs were carelessly smashing baskets and knocking over trash cans.

"Let him go!" the pigtailed martial artist shouted as he approached the crowd.

Clearly having caught the ruffians' attention he continued to walk towards them. All around him the bikers focused their attention on the youth wearing the red Chinese shirt. Undeterred by the seemingly overwhelming numbers Ranma continued to approach the old man and the large tattooed man menacing him.

"You deaf as well as stupid?" Ranma taunted.

Roaring, the apparent gang leader let go of the old man. Gripping his bat with both hands he swung mightily at the pigtailed youth. Instead of the painful sound of aluminum on flesh or even on concrete the punks were greeted with the squeaking of shoe against face as their powerful leader was stopped dead in his tracks by solid kick to the face.

Ranma sighed, his hopes of a good fight dashed as the big brute was felled by a kick, not a ki enhanced kick, but a simple kick. Sure, it was to the thug's face, but still, the guy was seriously weak. Removing his foot from the punk's face, Ranma noted that a large red footprint was apparent on the unconscious young man's face.

Slipping his toes beneath the handle of the bat the cursed martial artist flipped it into the air; deftly catching it with is free hand. Setting his bowl of ramen down, he put both hands onto the thick bat.

"This is your arm," he said calmly squeezing the hardened aluminum, "and this is what happens when you mess with me." With a flick of his wrists he ripped the bat apart, leaving clear handprints in the alloy before it the metal twisted apart. "And if I hear that any of you are messing with this vendor or any of the stores around here I will come after you."

The cursed martial artist watched as the two dozen or so bikers slowly backed off. Though two of their number picked up their leader the others began to slowly back off. With their boss in hand the group hastily retreated.

*****

There were few times in his relatively short life that Ranma had ever doubted himself. True, he doubted his rivals abilities as they rarely ever measured up (at least compared to him) and those around him, but he had never doubted his ability to master the arts or its place in society. Hadn't many families adapted the arts so that they could continue to practice some form of it and make it sort of relevant (like Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, Martial Arts French Dining, and so on)? But what was the role of a martial artist in the grand scheme of things.

Those thoughts plagued the cursed martial artist as he walked home. Since it was a Saturday he'd only spent half the day at school. Wandering aimlessly as he headed back to his apartment the pigtailed youth began to actually look at the district he was living in. Unlike the rural Nerima district this district (which he had yet to find out its name) was fairly developed. Though not urban, it was much more modern then Nerima. Instead of bathhouses there were Laundromats and arcades; gone were the familiar mom and pop shops, instead there were the large franchises and those oh so recognizable golden arches (even though he'd never been to one, he'd seen their commercials often enough). Even the small homes and dojos were gone, replaced with (to him) towering apartment buildings. Forced to walk on the sidewalks (as he'd found out that people didn't like having him jump on their fences or roofs) Ranma was beginning to feel like a rat trapped in a maze.

In just two days of wandering around the neighborhood and getting to know the area better (which really hadn't helped) Ranma had managed to get into three fights with the local punks (not including the first fight with the punks messing with the vendor, who incidentally offered to let Ranma eat their for free the next couple of times he ever stopped by). The first had been after some local toughs had tried to harass a girl, the second happened after Ranma (as a girl) had been hit on by another group of punks who were unwilling or unable to accept no for an answer, and the third was from a group of punks who were trying to get revenge for the first fight. Despite being outnumbered at least five to one it had proven to be an easy fight for the highly skilled martial artist the first time. Having so easily disposed of the thugs Ranma had expected them to simply try and avoid him whenever possible. Unfortunately his expectations had been shattered when the thugs returned the next day with their whole gang. Dispatching each one of the nearly fifty or so punks with a knockout kick or punch, Ranma was surprised at how quickly he managed to beat them even without having to use any of his ki. At least the hentai horde had been a challenge back when he'd first started going to Furinkan, forcing him to resort to some sort of ki enhancement so as to make sure that Akane was safe (though she often did well by herself). Then again, the guys seemed to take it easier on her then when they went up against him.

Behind the martial artist a group of sixty punks in various stages of consciousness were moaning or groaning. Having dispatched another group of thugs who had relied on their numbers to overwhelm him, Ranma felt no remorse as he left the many beaten up toughs to their own devices. It was always nice to start out the morning with a good fight. Even after disposing of the punks Ranma had plenty of time to get to school, despite being forced to walk on the sidewalks as he made his way. After all, what kind of impression would he make if he were late to his first day at his new school?

Having used the water-proof soap that morning Ranma hoped that he could at least remain a guy for the entire day. Glad to have not worked up a sweat he ignored the choir of groans from his beaten adversaries. Stopping at the friendly vendor he paid for a lunch box (despite the owner's protests that he accept it for free) after promising to stop by for dinner after school. With lunch in hand the carefree martial artist quickly yet carefully placed it into a stuff space_. _

_At least I won't have to worry about girls trying to force feed me or fighting over who is going to make me eat their food,_ Ranma thought as he continued on towards his new school.

Looking up at Saotome High, Ranma couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to convince his pops to let him come here. Sure, it had helped that he had convinced his mother first by telling her that he had acquired an honest job and could attend a quality school that could offer him a better chance of attending a good college. While he would miss fighting against high caliber fighters like Ryoga and Mousse, but this was a different type of opportunity for him.

Obviously his pops and Mr. Tendo had objected, but pops couldn't do anything against his mom. It also helped that Nabiki was able to manipulate her father into not objecting to Ranma's transfer. Eventually the two old men had managed to play things off as Ranma finally putting some thought into his long term goals (training students and honest work, not to mention the possibility of college, though that was really a stretch).

Mentally checking off his checklist Ranma nodded before entering the school. Ignoring the odd looks that the other students shot him (he was wearing his usual red Chinese silk shirt and black pants) as he headed towards the principals office the martial artist hoped that no one would mind too much if he wasn't wearing the school's uniform. It had been two days ago that his paperwork had been officially processed, not enough time for him to purchase a customized outfit.

It came as no surprise that the head guidance councilor and principal had both been displeased with his lack of appropriate attire. Still, they couldn't object too much given the situation. Even they had been surprised at the relative quickness that his transfer had been processed and accepted.

Leaving the principal's office Ranma spotted a tall tanned girl looking just as out of place with her darkened skin and stature as he did with his colorful attire. Shrugging it off Ranma headed up to his new homeroom.

It came as a slight surprise to the cursed boy (not to mention the tan girl and the entire class) that there were two new students joining the. Standing up and introducing himself to the class Ranma knew that he stood out (his outfit and all) but didn't really care.

Sitting in the last row Ranma was glad to be in the back row beside the tall Tsukishima Botan, all the easier for him to doze off if he ever needed to so long as the tan girl kept her hands to herself. Watching as she walked to the back to claim her seat the skilled martial artist could tell that she had some skill in the arts. With her reach and build it was obvious that she had spent some time fighting, but her degree of skill and what type of skill were unknown. She was definitely someone to keep an eye out for.

"So you're a martial artist?" Kosukegawa asked.

Nodding, Ranma looked at his employer's friend_. The kid really is scrawny, but he's got some potential_, the martial artist thought. "Yep," he finally replied.

"What do you practice?" a large muscular student asked. Judging from his build and confidence he was also a martial artist. Given the calluses on his hand probably judo or aikido, maybe jujitsu.

"A family style," Ranma replied. "It's called Anything Goes."

"Like Jeet Kune Do?" another boy asked.

"Not really," Ranma answered. "It's called Anything Goes because it incorporates any and all styles to find what is most effective for the individual or the situation. Basically I've learned and mastered all these weird styles."

The others around him eyed him dubiously.

"I've mastered several forms of Karate, judo, Chinese Kempo, Aikido, kendo, Kapkido, Kuk Sool Won, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, several versions of Tai Chi, several forms of Kung fu, Wushu, Wing Chun, and several other family styles," Ranma boasted.

His classmates eyed him skeptically.

"Where are your belts?" the large boy asked.

"I really didn't learn at any particular dojo," Ranma replied. "Technically I'm not a master, more of a dojo destroyer."

The others blinked.

"There are still people who do that?" the tan girl asked, joining the conversation.

"I guess," Ranma replied. "I've traveled through most of Japan China, though we probably went through Korea and Southeast Asia too."

Again his classmates blinked.

"I've been traveling with my pops for over a decade," Ranma explained. "We've traveled around a lot learning various styles and incorporating them into Anything Goes. I think we managed to destroy more than a few dojos along the way (literally and figuratively)."

"So it is like Jeet Kune Do," the same brown haired boy exclaimed. "You've basically learned several different styles but adapted them to your own use and for various situations."

Ranma blinked as he considered his classmate's remark. "I guess you're right."

For the remainder of the homeroom Ranma and Tsukishima continued to get to know their peers and classmates. Though most of the conversation was focused on where the two new students had traveled and experienced abroad, they were occasionally asked about their preference in movies and music (to which Ranma honestly couldn't think of anything other then martial arts movies and some anime).

Due to all the fights, sleeping in class, and standing out in the hallway, Ranma had little experience in actually sitting through an entire class. Having actually sat through the opening ceremony (as today was the first day back from summer break) the energetic martial artist was glad to be out of his seat Ranma followed the others as they headed down for P.E.

"Man, I've never sat so long before," Ranma remarked as he changed into his gym clothes.

"I thought you looked squeamish," the judo boy joked.

"Yeah, I think the longest I ever sat down for one of my classes back at my old school was one period," the pigtailed martial artist added. "Something usually happens that keeps me from staying seated all day."

"Like what?" Kosukegawa asked.

"Like someone attacking me out of the blue," Ranma explained. "It's usually one of my rivals or some crazy girl claiming to be my fiancée, something along those lines."

The other boys blinked at the admission, not sure what to make of it as they were still getting to know their new classmate.

Walking out of the locker room and into the gym Ranma followed the others. Never one to really participate in P.E. he felt that he could at least try to prove to his classmates that he wasn't pulling their legs.

"Man, physicals today?!" one of the other boys shouted, clearly not happy with what they had to do.

"Hey, that means the girls are getting measured," one of the others added. "If we're lucky we can catch a glimpse into the girls' locker room."

"That's enough of that nonsense!" their sensei shouted. Though young for a teacher, it was clear that he was full of energy as he led the boys towards the track. "First up is the 100 meter dash."

Nodding, Ranma decided to play it cool and not use ki enhancements. Getting into a runner's stance he waited for the signal.

The screech of the whistle signaled the mad dash. Taking an easy lead, Ranma found himself crossing the finish line just as the other boys were reaching the fifty meter mark.

"4.98 seconds," the astonished instructor gasped.

"Is that good?" Ranma asked, clearly unaware of how good that was.

Next up was the chin up bar. "I want to see how many you can do, no time limit," the recovering teacher explained as he finished writing down everyone's times.

Five minutes later….

"491, 492, 493…" the teacher counted.

"Dude, he's making us look bad," one of the boys muttered.

The others looked at the lone boy.

"I think he did that when he hit fifty," the large judo practitioner stated.

"500!" their P.E. instructor shouted as Ranma casually let go of the bar. Writing down the number he eyed the other boys eagerly. "You just shattered the school record!"

"By 450," one of the other boys added.

Half an hour later they were once again inside the gymnasium. With their physicals over the boys milled around as the first batch of girls exited the girl's locker room. Despite his time with the boys thus far Ranma had yet to recall any of their names other then Kosukegawa's and only that because of the job.

"Man, I'm jealous of the guys from Class A," the light brown haired boy said. "The transfer student from their class is very cute."

"What you just said is too much," Kosukegawa protested.

Ranma watched, slightly awed by the display even though it was just normal though aggressive interaction between teens, the cursed martial artist wondered if missing out on such interactions wasn't a good thing.

Reaching out he quickly grabbed yet roughly grabbed hold of the runty teen's shirt, pulling him out of the way of a vicious volleyball.

"You've crossed the line Kosukegawa!" one of the girls shouted, clearly offended by his defense of the muscular girl.

"Talking about degrading," another girl protested. "You shouldn't treat girls like items!"

"Shut up!" the large muscled boy shouted back. "Don't you girls call us gorillas and scorpions behind our backs?!"

"Actually I think they call us that to our faces," the spiky haired boy stated.

"Shut up!" the P.E. instructor shouted as he worked with another group of teens. "Those of you done with your physical can go play volleyball!"

"Why don't we use volleyball to settle the score?" the spunky girl who smashed the volleyball at Kosukegawa suggested. "The losing team has to run errands for the winners for one week."

The boys quickly glanced at Ranma. Snickering they smiled. "But even with the new guy we're short a player," the taller boy stated.

"Hey Motoko," the spunky girl shouted, calling over to the girl from Kannami's videos. "Would you mind playing with the boy's team?"

"Oh, sure," the girl reluctantly agreed.

"If you lose we won't make you do the punishment," one of the other girls said.

Ranma watched as Kosukegawa and Motoko briefly chatted. Something about her was different. Wasn't she a skilled martial artist? Yet the way she had held herself in class was very different from the way she was holding herself now.

"Ranma," the tall muscled boy said, pulling the martial artist's attention away from the boyfriend and girlfriend pair. "I want you between Motoko and Kosukegawa. You're our most athletic person, but they're our least athletic. Saitou (spiky haired boy) and I will take the net. Katou (the brown haired boy) will set. For now we'll Saitou and I will take the blocks and spikes, but we'll try to set you up in the back too."

The pigtailed boy nodded.

Allowing the girls to serve first the boys plus Motoko waited. Trading blocked spikes and side-outs without any kills the teams appeared to be evenly matched. Reading Tsukishima's eyes it was clear that the tall girl was going to get more serious. By the time Motoko was up to serve the score was 9-11 in favor of the girls.

With his back to the only girl on his team, Ranma watched the underhand serve float over the net. Though probably unnoticed by the others, the martial artist's quick eyes caught the quick spin on the ball. His suspicions were confirmed when Tsukishima bumped the ball only to have it swerve away.

"Point," the girl who was refereeing declared. "10-11."

Motoko served again, hitting the ball with a subtle spin towards one of the other girls on the opposite team. Dashing quickly to intercept the ball the athletic tanned girl back handed the ball. Clearly having compensated for the spin she passed it towards one of her teammates only to have it set high for her to spike back at the boys. Smashing the ball hard she six-packed Saitou, sending the spiky haired boy crashing down to the wood floor. Katou dove, digging the ball and keeping it in play. Giving his team some time to recover Ranma smashed the ball hard from the back court. Despite the speed and power behind the spike the girls were able to bump the ball, keeping it alive before setting up Tsukishima up for another spike. This time the tall girl six packed Katou, knocking him out while also putting the ball into the net and out of play.

"Side out!" the referee shouted.

"Time out!" Ranma called. Taking a minute to check on their unconscious teammates Ranma and the larger boy (he just couldn't remember the guy's name) moved Katou and Saitou off the court. "The girls are getting serious," the taller boy stated.

"Don't worry, we'll be okay," Ranma said. Never one to take losing gracefully, the pigtailed boy was determined to win. "I'll take care of the net; you and Kosukegawa take the back court."

The other boy nodded.

Signaling the referee they repositioned themselves.

"Time," the referee shouted once everyone was in place.

With the spunky girl serving for the girls Ranma up, smashing the ball back at the girls.

"Side-out," the ponytailed referee shouted.

Taking the ball Ranma moved back to serve, trading places with the tall boy once again. Tossing the ball high into the air Ranma astonished everyone watching the game as he leapt well over ten feet into the air and smashed the ball hard. Having spun the ball before he threw it and adding more spin with the hit he watched as the girls took a step in the initial direction that he had hit the ball only to have it veer wide of their expectations as it landed out of their reach.

"Point," the referee shouted, "11 all."

With the ball in hand again Ranma again tossed the ball high into the air. Ignoring the gasps and stares from the crowd of gawkers he again leapt into air. Smashing the ball hard he sent it over the net once again. Swerving the ball in a different direction he watched as the girls once again came up short in digging the ball.

"Point, 12-11," the referee called out.

"Did you see how high he got?" someone exclaimed.

"Did you see that mean serve?" someone else added.

"If he'd been going all out the entire game the guys would have won already," another person muttered.

Despite all the talk between his schoolmates Ranma focused on the task at hand. With only three more points needed to end the match he once again accepted the ball. Given the positioning of the spunky girl and Tsukishima it was clear that he would not be able to get in another ace. The only other strategy was to hit a winning shot. Even though the taller Tsukishima might be able to compensate for the spin (as she did with Motoko's serve) could she handle the power behind it? As the match as a friendly game, Ranma knew that injuring anyone (despite what Tsukishima had done to previously) was not an option.

Serving the ball with a lot of spin Ranma smashed it at the spunky girl. Even if the could hit the ball he made sure that they wouldn't be able to return it well. Ranma watched as one of the girls gingerly bumped the ball expecting that it would have lots of power behind it only for the ball to spin out from between her extended forearms and onto the court.

"Point, 13-11."

Palming the ball Ranma spun the ball as he waited for the girls to set up their defense. With Tsukishima in the middle it was clear that they were expecting him to power the serve once again as her position gave her the best chance to try and smash the serve while the other girls covered the edge of the court in case he were to try hitting away from her.

Gently serving the ball so that it hugged the net without hitting it, he let the tall girl smash the ball. Watching her movements the skilled martial artist shuffled his feet as he waited for her to indicate where she was going to spike the ball. Just as she hammered the ball the large judo practitioner picked up Kosukegawa and threw the runty boy into the air to block.

Startled by the underhanded ploy everyone simply watched as the ball bounced off of the now dazed Kosukegawa and back onto the girls' court and hit the ground.

"Game point," the referee announced.

Composing himself Ranma went over to check on the stunned boy. Though the wind was knocked out of him he was still up, which surprised virtually everyone.

"Why don't you sit this point out," Ranma suggested, not wanting the boy he was supposed to protect to get hurt any more. "It's only one more point. I think we can put this one away without you."

Nodding, the larger boy reluctantly agreed.

With the ball in hand Ranma again took his position. Waiting for the two remaining members of his team to get into place the pigtailed boy casually noted how the opposing team had set themselves up.

Once again he spun the ball before throwing it into the air. Gently hitting the ball so that it once again hugged the net and line he moved onto the court as the girls set up their return volley. Seeing the tall tan girl once again leaping up to spike the ball Ranma saw through her feint though the muscled judo boy didn't. Leaping up with his arms straight up to block he was well wide of the athletic girl's spike.

Two thoughts ran through Ranma's mind as the ball sped towards Motoko's face; what would she do and why hadn't she done anything during the match? From watching the brief videos of Motoko (or someone similar to her at least) the pigtailed martial artist knew for a fact that she was skilled. Yet despite her skill she apparently held herself differently in general, appearing fairly meek and submissive. But something was different. During the entire time they were in gym class she held herself differently. The meekness and timid attitude were clearly an act, but a good one. It had even fooled him.

Only the subtle movement of her neck suggested what she was going to do. Watching as the ball harmlessly (which was odd given that Tsukishima had knocked out two of the guys when she six-packed them) bounced off of her face Ranma knew that the real fighter in the girl had show itself. Clearly Motoko didn't want the others to know just how skilled she truly was.

"Game," the referee shouted as the ball bounced on the girls' side of the court.

Having focused their attention on the now knocked over but not out Motoko the girls had failed to realize that the ball was still in play.

*****

A/N

For those of you who have read some of my other fan-fics I hope you like this series. While Change 123 isn't as popular as some of the other series that I've thought of crossing Ranma with, I like it more then some of the other series that I've read. It's going to be a much harder fic to write as Ranma might appear Gary Stu-ish compared to everyone else. Still, I hope everyone enjoys it.

Please Read and Review. If there are errors please let me know as I'm writing this without a Beta presently. If anyone's interested please let me know.

Dreamingfox


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes

I obviously don't own Ranma ½ or Change 123. I am using the characters and concepts for the purpose of entertainment only as I am not getting anything for this work other then the simple enjoyment of writing and having people criticize my writing.

I hope you all enjoy this work. Please read and review. And if you spot some errors (spelling or grammar, or even contingency errors) please let me know as I'm looking for a beta for this fic.

Thanks and enjoy.

*****

The school was abuzz with talk of the three new transfer students in the second year's class. It didn't help that Ranma refused to wear the boys' uniform for the school either. Word of his physical feats quickly spread like wildfire throughout the school.

"He did 500 pull ups!"

"No way anyone could do that many!"

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

"I was there too, he didn't even look winded!"

"Yeah, I think he just wanted to do a nice even set of 500!"

"There's no way anyone could do that many pull ups at once!"

"Did you see him run the 100 meters?"

"Of course no, he was too fast!"

"Under 5 seconds!"

"What about that volleyball game?"

"He jumped like three meters into the air!"

"No way! Even American Pro-basketball players can't get that high!"

"Even high jumpers can't get that high!"

"It was a straight vertical jump too – I was there, I saw it."

Ranma sighed as he listened to the rumors around him. It definitely beat the rumors of him and Akane being married back at his old high school, though those rumors had also been true back then.

Despite the chaos and weirdness of things in Nerima Ranma couldn't help but miss the small rural district. Even factoring in all the random and destructive fights, things in Nerima were much more peaceful. Aside from Happosai's daily panty raids there really wasn't any crime in Nerima. No thugs, punks, or troublemakers aside from the local martial artists, and even they tended to leave bystanders alone (though their property couldn't be factored into that as houses, walls, fences, and other structures had been devastated by the powerful martial artists as they fought).

Walking through the hallway the cursed martial artist smiled at his new schoolmates, hoping to make a better impression here then he had back in Furinkan. Getting past the violent crime, Ranma couldn't help but think that the place wasn't that bad. The students were a lot nicer (probably because they didn't have to live in fear of random martial artists destroying the school or the horde of fiancées that would easily crush the girls if any of them seemed to be too friendly with Ranma).

"Ranma!" one of the boys from his homeroom shouted. After having told more then a few guys that he didn't answer to any honorifics word had spread to the rest of the school.

Still not sure of the kid's name (as it wasn't any of the guys he'd played volleyball with) the pigtailed martial artist waved.

"Yo!" he returned.

Behind the initial boy several more scrawny guys emerged.

"Hey Ranma," Kosukegawa said timidly.

"What's up?" Ranma asked tentatively. Clearly something was up.

"The film club is looking to do an action movie for the school festival," the timid boy started.

"And we were wondering if you could help us out," an older boy finished.

Ranma looked skeptically at the others. It wasn't too odd a request; after all, he did play both Romeo and Juliet once.

"We've already got Motoko to play the lead," the initial scrawny guy from his homeroom said. "We just need someone who can play the villain."

The cursed boy blinked, not sure what to make of the request. He had been one (actually both) of the good guys in the last play he'd been in. But hey, it couldn't hurt, could it? "Sure, why not?"

The others gave up tremendous cheer as they now had their lead characters cast.

"Great, now we just have to make adjustments to your costume!"

*****

Ranma couldn't help but have second thoughts about the role he was going to be playing – a giant insectoid alien. It wasn't so much the character so much as the costume (the latex suit was clearly not designed to be put through the wringer or to let him breath right).

"Try not to rip the costume," the costume's designer and creator shouted as Ranma tested the flexibility of the suit. Moving his arms, legs, and he was surprised to find that the outfit allowed him his full range of motion. Even performing a simple (for him) kata wasn't too difficult despite the tightness of the suit. With a smile Ranma nodded as he considered his role in the short film.

The sound of the small crew busily hustling to set up the camera test in the remaining light of day quickly vanished. Not sure what had happened Ranma turned around only to be greeted with the sound of cell phone's clicking as the small production crew (each a member of the club) rushed to take pictures of the scantily clad Motoko.

_Damn, she's got some guts_, Ranma thought as he eyed the revealing outfit. The too small bikini appeared strained as it fought to contain Motoko's assets. _She's got better curves then me_.

"You're the lead actress," the director shouted, "you shouldn't worry about people taking pictures."

"Especially since we're the camera men," one of the other crewmen snickered.

_Hell, I'd be kicking your asses if that was me_, Ranma thought as he noticed the large crowd of crewmen following her out of the school. Having several dozen websites dedicated to his female form (most of them funded by the obsessive Kuno, who also happened to have one of Akane, though most of them were simply sites dedicated to the illicit trade of revealing pictures and pictures were not posted) Ranma couldn't help but think that Motoko was justified should she feel the need to kick some ass over the cell phone pictures that the boys were taking of her in the revealing costume.

Ranma shook his head, clearly wondering just how perverted the guys in his new school were. Hopefully all the guys in the school (or even a good majority of them) weren't like that normally. Then again, maybe having someone like Akane around had kept the boys in Furinkan High from acting out on their perversions (if only because they feared Akane beating the hell out of them). Akane wouldn't have tolerated boys snapping revealing pictures of her (at least not from the boys, but Nabiki and some of her crones had clearly gotten away with it), and Ranma hadn't cared too much about the guys splashing him with water in the locker room as none of them dared to take pictures of him (though Happosai probably would have if he had ever learned to use a cell phone).

Clearly glad to be away from the chaos and perversions of his… rivals and associates in Nerima, Ranma hoped that things at Saotome High would work out better then they had at Furinkan High.

Meanwhile, back in Furinkan High, the student body was slowly adjusting to the absence of their most powerful and entertaining fighter. It wasn't unusual for Ranma to disappear for a week or two during training, but with word that Ranma had transferred out to take a job, things were slowly getting out of hand. Without Ranma around Shampoo (and Cologne) had virtually vanished. Though the purple haired Amazon was still seen around town delivering food and at the Cat Café, her noticeable absence from the school grounds had lead many to speculate how long the peace and quiet would last. It didn't help that the cute and uncute fiancées who were still in the same homeroom and had most of their classes together were shooting each other venomous glares. If not for Hinako Minomiya's presence in most of their classes most of the students were sure that something would have happened. As it was Nerima and Furinkan High were filled with an ominous tension that was slowly eating away at the nerves of the many non-fighters.

Word of Ranma's transfer had also reached other schools. Without Furinkan High's star martial artist the others schools were quickly plotting to avenge their previous losses in Martial Arts Gymnastics, Martial Arts Cheerleading, and anything else Ranma had competed in on behalf of the school. Things were definitely not looking good for the students at Furinkan High.

And then there was Happosai. With his main rival absent the perverted Grandmaster of Anything Goes Martial Arts was unopposed. The shrunken old lecher's daily panty raids quickly grew in size and magnitude without Ranma's interference. Unable and unwilling to stand up to their master, Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo simply went through the motions of trying to keep Happosai at bay as the many shops in Nerima quickly ran out of women's underwear.

But those concerns were no longer Ranma's. Blessed with having no lines (aside from some screaming and bellowing) the cursed martial artist was studying the busty Motoko as she moved to better assess her ability to put on an entertaining fight.

The girl was definitely hard to read. In their volley ball match she'd barely contributed, though she made some quick decisions and even reacted quickly to the ball despite the tall new girl's powerful hits. But watching Motoko now he couldn't help but think that she lacked coordination to keep up with him. Still, there was that footage of her fighting, though he was starting to doubt it if was actually her, maybe it was just someone who looked a lot like her.

"Okay, that's enough for today," the director shouted. "Ranma, Motoko, could you work together to get choreograph a good fight for tomorrow?"

"I'll work with them on that," Kosukegawa insisted.

Motoko nodded, prompting the director and other crew members to agree.

Ranma nodded. He did need to talk with Kosukegawa about possibly training the runt in some basic martial arts. Besides, spending sometime with his new classmates couldn't hurt, could it?

With Kosukegawa's help the pigtailed martial artist was able to get out of the latex costume, even managing to get out without damaging it.

"So, what's up with you and Motoko?" Ranma asked boldly.

The smaller boy blushed, clearly not sure what to make of his new classmate's interest in his relationship with Motoko.

"I know you're dating and all," Ranma added as he tried to make sure that the other boy knew that he wasn't trying to hit on Motoko. "But you both get weird sometimes, her more then you."

Kosukegawa flinched.

"I mean, it's not a bad thing," the pigtailed boy said, backpedalling from what he'd said before. "It's just odd, she looks like she could be a good fighter, but sometimes she looks like she can't tell the difference between her right foot and her left foot."

"Hehe, I guess she's just self conscious sometimes," Kosukegawa replied. "Not everyone can stay on their feet as easily as you."

"I guess," Ranma shrugged. "But you both look like you could do well with some formal training."

The smaller boy paused, not sure he heard things correctly. Had Ranma complemented him?

"I mean, even though you don't look like a fighter, you do look like you have some skill," Ranma replied. "You're pretty good at taking a hit, but sometimes it's better to not get hit."

"I…I don't think I'm ever going to be as good as you."

"Hahaha," Ranma laughed, not sure how to take the remark. Sure, he'd taken a few hits before, but he always prided himself on being elusive in a fight. "Few are, but with some training you could be fairly decent. Like I said, you've got some skill, all you need is some training - if you want I could show you a few things that might help."

"Ranma!" someone shouted, interrupting their conversation. It was his large classmate, the one that had thrown Kosukegawa into the air during the volleyball match. "Would you join the judo club?"

*****

A/N

Unfortunately this is going to be a short chapter. Just take it on faith that the next chapter will be longer and get to you sooner.

As always, Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes

I obviously don't own Ranma ½ or Change 123. I am using the characters and concepts for the purpose of entertainment only as I am not getting anything for this work other then the simple enjoyment of writing and having people criticize my writing.

I hope you all enjoy this work. Please read and review. And if you spot some errors (spelling or grammar, or even contingency errors) please let me know as I'm looking for a beta for this fic.

Thanks and enjoy.

*****

The bright late morning light barely penetrated into the dark apartment as the lone occupant slept. Despite the seemingly late hour the raven haired boy slept soundly, lost to the world. After over a year of living with the Tendos and traveling with his pops the sleeping youth rarely had yet to adapt to the concept of waking himself up. The pile of destroyed alarm clocks in the trash outside of the apartment stood as testament to the boy's reluctance to wake up. Too used to waking up to the feel of water being splashed on him or being dunked into the Tendo's koi pond, Ranma slumbered on.

Only the annoying buzz emitted disturbed the peace and quiet of the dark room. As the buzzing grew in intensity the slumbering boy slowly stirred. A bare arm slipped out from beneath the light blanket. The hand attached to said arm desperately sought the source of the annoying buzz until finally grasping the offending cell phone. Absently the hand tossed the phone against the wall. Fortunately for the unfortunate device it landed in a pile of clothes with no serious damage.

With the buzzing gone the hand once again slipped underneath the blanket. Moments later the boy turned over, unaware of what he'd unconsciously done.

*****

"This is the perfect place for the second fight!" the director declared as the rest of the small film crew and the two costumed actors arrived on the school's roof.

With the senior's declaration the other students in the film club quickly mobilized as they checked the lighting before adjusting their cameras. Though he only normally helped the crew set up Kosukegawa had other responsibilities as his character actually appeared in this scene, though only at the beginning and end of the fight.

"Do you need a hand Ranma?" the smaller boy asked his costumed companion.

The giant bug-man shook its head.

"Did you put the extra padding in for the fight?" Kosukegawa asked. "It looks a bit tighter than yesterday."

The giant bug nodded.

"Okay," the director shouted. "This is the second fight scene. Ranma – jump down on Kosukegawa and do that choke hold that you showed us.

"Make sure to get a good shot of Kosukegawa's face while Ranma's choking him," the director instructed the camera men. "But you" he pointed to another camera man "and you follow Motoko. Hopefully we can get a good shot of her jumping out to save Kosukegawa.

"Ranma, once Motoko arrives throw Kosukegawa onto the mattress, we can film him falling down later. Everyone in place?"

Seeing that no one spoke up, the director nodded solemnly. "Action!"

Motoko waited as the scene played out on the other side of the roof.

"Go," Sai whispered, indicating that the two cameras should start filming the scantily clad actress.

Hidden beneath the biker helmet Hibiki grinned as she took over. Motoko and the others rarely ever let her have control outside of a fight or on the occasional free day, but since Motoko really couldn't handle the pressure of stardom (or wearing such a revealing outfit around so many boys) it was Hibiki who took control of the situation.

Feeling the air against her bare skin she raced to her mark, running up the stairs to the top level of the roof where the observatory and supply shed was and where the costumed Ranma choked Kosukegawa. Grabbing hold of the railing she pulled herself up off the steps before crouching on the thin railing.

"Let him go!" she shouted as she sprang into the air for a powerful jump kick to the head of the giant bug.

Instead of spinning away from the kick the bug flung Kosukegawa towards her. Unable to avoid the collision Hibiki at least managed to used the momentum from the impact to twist in the air so that she could at least land safely. Unfortunately for Kosukegawa he could not say the same as he landed hard on his shoulder and back before rolling away from the combatants.

"You'll pay for that!" Motoko/Hibiki shouted as she charged at the alien bug. A quick knife edge chop forced her to duck and roll past her opponent.

'That's not what we practiced yesterday,' Motoko though as she sprang to her feet.

'I don't think that's Ranma,' Fujiko added.

'This is going to be fun,' Hibiki sent, cutting off the others as the aggressive personality took complete control.

Beneath both their masks the two fighters grinned as they charged in for another exchange. Again the alien lashed out first, forcing the scantily clad girl back on the defensive. After several more exchanges it was clear that the two fighters were evenly matched in speed, but it was the alien's longer reach that gave it the advantage as it forced the masked girl back.

Unable to get past the alien's guard Hibiki ground her teeth as she eyed her opponent. 'Damn, if I don't beat it soon Fujiko will probably take over. I've got to do something quick.'

Rushing in once again the smaller girl saw barely evaded a mean front kick Hibiki answered with an equally powerful spinning sweep, forcing her taller opponent to jump while off balance. The small window of opportunity provided by the alien steadying itself allowed her to slip past its guard, taking away the larger fighter's reach advantage. The fight quickly became a one-sided affair as Hibiki forced the alien back with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks.

Kosukegawa's eyes bulged before a stream of blood erupted from his nose. All around the roof top the other members of the film club had similar reactions as their minds registered the fact that Motoko had lost her top.

Heedless of her state of undress Hibiki pressed on. Her front kick connected with the alien's stomach, sending it sprawling, patches of latex coming off as it skidded along the ground.

Rolling to its feet the alien considered its options. Grabbing hold of the railing it jumped off of the observatory down to the lower level of the roof.

Though she had defeated her opponent Hibiki couldn't resist the urge to find out who her mysterious attacker was. Clearly it wasn't Ranma. Curiosity perked, Hibiki ran after her fleeing opponent.

"Wait!" Kosukegawa shouted just as the topless warrior reached the railing.

Distracted by her crush, and finally realizing that she was now topless, Hibiki jumped over the railing, her foot catching on it as she failed to clear it. 'Not good,' she thought as she tried to brace herself.

Flipping part way so that she'd at least land on her butt she was surprised when she landed on something significantly firmer and softer than the hard roof. Though the crash landing still hurt, she was surprised that she wasn't seriously injured. Sitting up Hibiki slowly felt herself being forced out.

Shaking her head Motoko blinked. "Ow!"

Beneath her someone groaned.

Slowly Motoko looked down. Things just didn't add up. She'd followed the fight as much as she could when Hibiki took control, but this just seemed… well, wrong. Why was Ranma's head between her legs and why was she sitting on top of him? Slowly two and two began to equal four.

"Aaaahh!"

*****

"So you're telling me that someone took the suit and tried to pick a fight with Motoko?" Ranma asked.

Kosukegawa nodded.

The pigtailed martial artist couldn't help but think of the few video clips he'd seen of Motoko fighting. Though she was good, Motoko clearly lacked a fighter's normal disposition. The sweet and innocent girl was more like Kasumi than Akane. No one picked a fight with Kasumi, not unless they wanted the entire Nerima Wrecking Crew to come after them. Then again, if they knew that Kasumi would turn into a violent maniac like Akane and they were prepared for that, maybe they would - but only if they were very good.

"Man," one of the film crew boys lamented, "no one got any good footage of Motoko."

"Knock it off morons," the pigtailed boy shouted as he stood up. Even though he had not witnessed the incident in person Ranma knew full well that they were talking about getting a good full frontal view of Motoko. Perverts just rubbed the pigged tailed boy the wrong way.

"Don't worry Ranma," the director said as he stood up, "I won't let anyone abuse Motoko's trust. We'll delete everything inappropriate (we wouldn't want to get the club disbanded after all). All we have to do is re-shoot the fight scene. We'll probably have to have Motoko use some tape to keep the top on just to keep anything like that from happening again."

"But what about the costume?" one of the crew members asked.

"We'll just have to go with Plan B," the director replied. "Check with the writers to see if we can adjust the script to have the alien mutate after each fight so that it's stronger. That will explain why the alien looks a bit different in each fight. Once we have the original alien costume rebuilt we'll re-shoot the fight scene for additional footage."

The assembled crew and cast nodded.

"Alright, let's got to work," the director shouted.

Motivated by their leader the crew quickly jumped into action. Editors and the camera men began to check over the footage, making notes of what to delete and what to keep or how to sequence the footage.

"I guess the three of you can have the rest of the day off," the director said as he turned to face Ranma and Kosukegawa. "Let Motoko know about the changes and that we'll have to re-shoot the scene once we get another costume made. Hopefully we'll be able to shoot the final fight scene tomorrow if we can get another alien costume for Ranma."

Both boys nodded. Despite the fact that the director was a pervert, he was at least acting the role of a commanding director and producer by putting the film first and everything else second. With things clearly laid out for them the pair looked at each other and shrugged.

"Oh, Kosukegawa," the director added as the two reached the door, "make sure that Ranma has a good alarm clock: I don't want him to oversleep and miss next weekend's shoot."

The pigtailed boy found himself studying the ceiling tiles rather than looking at the director. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't an alarm clock person.

Beside him the smaller boy nodded, "You can count on me."

With the matter resolved the pair walked towards the girls' bathroom as the film crew did their job. Hearing the door to the bathroom open both knew that Motoko had finished changing.

"Oh, hello," the timid girl said with a slight bow to both boys. "I'm sorry about earlier; I shouldn't have screamed like that. If not for you I'd probably have injured myself."

With his customary shrug Ranma accepted the girl's apology despite the rarity of such an act (Akane, Nabiki, and Shampoo never apologized, Ukyo rarely did, and Kasumi, well, her only mistake was not teaching Akane to be a better cook). "I've had worse things happen to me. Girls landing on top of me is a pretty normal thing actually.

"So now that we have the rest of the day free, what do you two want to do?" Ranma added as he flippantly changed the direction of the conversation.

"We're not filming anymore today?" Motoko asked, still not up to speed on the situation.

"Miyazaki told us to take the rest of the day off," Kosukegawa clarified. "He's going to go over the footage and delete anything indecent and then they'll try to put together some good footage of the fight. If we need to re-shoot the scene we'll try to do it next weekend once they remake that alien costume. For now they're going to see if we can borrow another costume for tomorrow when we shoot the final fight. They're also going to work on the script to explain why the alien looks different in each one."

"Oh," the shy girl replied.

"Um," Kosukegawa said, "we'll see you tomorrow. We're going to meet up with some friends we made over the summer break."

"Oh," the pigtailed boy replied. "See ya later."

In truth Ranma had wanted to try to figure out just who had attacked Motoko. Sure, she had the potential to be a great fighter, and from what Kannami had told him she really was one of the best the genius had ever scene in action, but that didn't mean that there weren't any who would try to test that claim. Then there was the fact that he had still not convinced the runt to at least learn the basics of self defense.

With little else to do now the pigtailed boy resorted to what he knew best, practicing. Making his way up to the rooftop the young martial artist absently began to perform a kata. Lost in his kata Ranma failed to notice the two separate sets of eyes observing his elaborate movements.

*****

A/N

Unfortunately this is going to be a short chapter. So I've traded speed for quantity. For now I'm stuck with a dying computer forcing me to wait for my wife to get off her computer so I can go back and read Change 123. Expect to see Ginga and Hino next chapter.

As always, Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes

I obviously don't own Ranma ½ or Change 123. I am using the characters and concepts for the purpose of entertainment only as I am not getting anything for this work other then the simple enjoyment of writing and having people criticize my writing.

I hope you all enjoy this work. Please read and review. And if you spot some errors (spelling or grammar, or even contingency errors) please let me know as I'm looking for a beta for this fic.

Thanks and enjoy.

*****

The gentle late summer breeze barely penetrated the young martial artist's silk shirt. Though he'd spent much of the afternoon performing various kata the pigtailed boy didn't feel tired in the least.

"Impressive," a familiar voice said, breaking the silence. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I'd never believe that it was possible for someone to jump that high unaided or to stay in the air that long. I really did think that Nabiki had just doctored some videos, but I guess you really are all that she said you are."

The martial artist shrugged, "If that's all it takes to impress you then you're really going to be floored when you see me in action."

"So you weren't even going all out," the blond haired boy stated rather than asked.

"Not even close," the raven haired boy replied. "I don't go all out unless someone makes me. Then again, since coming here I haven't had to yet."

"Not even against those bikers the other day?"

Ranma blinked. Then he blinked again.

"Those bikers that were terrorizing the vendor," the taller boy added.

"Oh," the martial artist exclaimed. "You heard about that?"

The other boy nodded. "I'd prefer if you kept a lower profile. I've gone through a lot to keep your presence here hidden from the rest of the Nerima crowd."

"What'd you do that for Kannami?" the pigtailed boy asked. "I haven't had a decent spar since I got here. At least with the Wrecking Crew I'd have some challenge."

Most people would have blinked at Ranma's apparent stupidity; then again, most people weren't Kannami. The ever calm and cool genius merely tilted his head as he eyed his classmate. "While you may enjoy being challenged like that, I'm pretty sure that the residents here would not take so kindly to having their property wrecked. There is a reason why you're part of the Nerima Wrecking Crew."

He'd expected the other boy to shrug it off, but seeing Ranma actually screw up his eyes as he considered what had been said actually surprised him. Perhaps Ranma wasn't just the mindless jock that he'd been led to believe.

"I guess you're right," Ranma finally stated. "I never really thought about the property damage that resulted from the all the fighting, but now that I think about it - yeah, we really did destroy a lot of stuff."

Kannami nearly blinked, nearly. From what Nabiki had told him Ranma rarely ever admitted that he was wrong as it went against his very nature. It was akin to admitting that he wasn't the best. "But it's not all bad," he interjected. "Because of you guys the crime rate in Nerima is the lowest of any Tokyo district. And you did save the vendor from those thugs.

"In fact, he's put in a good word with the landlord. You've now got adequate space to start teaching. It's not a real dojo, but it should be large enough for you to teach the basics to three or four people," the blond added. "Of course I've put it in my name, but the cost of maintaining it will be coming out of your considerable pay."

Ranma looked positively dumbfounded. Sure, it wasn't a real dojo, but it was a start.

"I've sent the location in an email," the blond stated. "You probably should go check it out."

*****

The warm afternoon sun did nothing to sooth the pressure that the slight youth was feeling. Cracking his knuckles the young boy cautiously reached out. The feel of the cool metal handle in his hand sent a shiver down his spine. Slowly he began to turn the handle.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Pop!

Nervously his other hand reached for the metal door and extracted the ball. Using the moisture from his tongue he wet his lips as he released the cool metal handle. With both hands on his prize the youth carefully opened the plastic ball to reveal his prize.

"Alright!" he exclaimed as he spotted the rare treasure. "It's Rider Cross!"

Hibiki sighed as Kosukegawa began doing a little victory dance. Heedless of the passersby who eyed the overly joyful boy as he celebrated as though he'd just won the lottery or his favorite team had won the championship, Kosukegawa began to run around in circles. Showing surprising stamina he managed to make quite a show of himself before finally coming to a stop before her.

"I guess it must be very rare," she stated with a slight smirk. At least he was happy - though he had spent over 1000 yen (with several other less rare Riders and those alien thingies that they fought to show for it).

"You have no idea how long I've been trying to get this," Kosukegawa replied. "Even though I already have this Rider Cross, getting it is a sign that my luck is changing!"

Hibiki blinked. _Did he just say he already has that Rider?_

"Oh," someone nearby exclaimed. "You got a Kamen Rider?"

Both Hibiki and Kosukegawa turned towards the newcomer. The redheaded beauty before them (and her huge guard behind her) immediately caught their attention.

"I've always loved watching Kamen Rider," the redhead stated.

Hibiki couldn't help but sigh as the normally shy and timid boy moved towards the redhead. As with all things Kamen Rider, Kosukegawa immediately took a liking to the new girl.

"Who's your favorite Rider?" he asked automatically.

*****

The feeling of welling pride and anticipation that Ranma had possessed just a few scant minutes ago had been replaced by another, underwhelming feeling as the martial artist stared at the vacant space that was to become the starting point for his dojo.

Though the ceiling was at least three meters from the ground Ranma knew he could easily touch the white surface. The room itself was roughly six meters by eight meters with well padded walls, with a rubbery surface covering the entire floor. Only the painted on circles with two parallel lines in them hinted at why the padding was necessary.

"This…"

"-isn't what you were expecting," Kannami said, cutting off the shorter boy. "I know. The Saotome school of Anything Goes is an aerial style. It'd be better if you had wood stumps or bamboo poles and no roof over your head so that you can practice balance and jumping."

Ranma nodded mutely.

"But if you had all that all you'd be teaching a beginner is how to fall so as not to seriously injure themselves," the blond stated. "I imagine you were thinking of having your students endure all that you had to do when you were learning the art."

Again Ranma nodded.

"Not everyone is as talented or as tough as you. While Kosukegawa might be able to take a beating, I don't think he'd be able to keep up with you."

"Um," the raven haired boy finally said, "about that. Kosuke really doesn't seem to be into taking any lessons from me."

The blond nodded. "I assumed as much. Give him some time to come around, but don't force him into anything. I think that he'll come to you eventually. But for now maybe you should think about taking in some other students so that you can work on how you're going to instruct them."

*****

The unsettling feeling in the pit of Hibiki's stomach just wouldn't go away. Though she knew that Kosukegawa had a thing for all things Kamen Rider, seeing him so close to another girl (who admitted that she also liked Kamen Rider) was very disturbing. Then again, being forced into the background while Kosukegawa and Hino discussed Kamen Rider, and then having Kosukegawa promise to bring a copy of some episode that Hino had not seen to school (as she was also a student at Saotome High, in the same year not less, though in a different homeroom) had made her feel a bit like a third wheel.

"You alright Hibiki?" Kosukegawa asked.

"Yeah," she replied. Stealing a glance at him she could tell that he was still glowing from the discussion he'd had with the beautiful redhead Hino.

"Why don't we head to the arcade?" he suggested. "That should be just the thing you need to perk you up."

Hibiki couldn't help but smile_. I guess he's not completely hopeless_. "Sure."

*****

Given how badly things had gone at the 'dojo' Ranma wasn't surprised at how things had turned out for her today. Not only had she (though at the time she had been a he) overslept and missed the filming of one of the fight scenes (not to mention that Motoko had been attacked and the rubber suit had been stolen) but the crappy small place that Kannami had leased for her really didn't suit what she had in mind for a proper dojo.

At least the blond had left her a list of places that he could check out as possible places for her dojo. If not for the old lady cleaning the entrance to her house Ranma would still be a he instead of a she. Still, Ranma couldn't fault the old woman as she honestly hadn't seen him, er, her, at the time. Besides, things like that simply reminded her of Nerima.

"Hey, this lot's not too far from my apartment," Ranma exclaimed as she pointed to it's location on the map.

Having convinced Kannami that it would be better if she picked out her own place for a dojo, one with large open areas for sparring while also close by, the blond had sent him to a real estate agent.

"What's the lot number again?" the balding middle aged agent asked as he typed away on his computer.

Despite her physical prowess Ranma knew that her female form was short. Actually her male form was considered just short for her age group, but her female form was significantly shorter that other girls her age. Add onto that the fact that the map pinned to the wall was set at the height for a typical Japanese adult and that the lot in question was towards the top of the map (where she barely managed to reach it with her finger) and the writing was very fine and tiny, made it very difficult for her to read the writing accurately. Rather than simply jumping up Ranma swallowed her pride and pulled the foot stool into position before climbing onto it.

"M7," she replied as she eyed the lot.

"M7," the agent (she really couldn't remember the guy's name) replied as he typed it into his computer. "Vacant for six months, fifty six meters by forty seven meters – a small one story building with a large lot, fenced in but…"

"But?" Ranma repeated after realizing that the agent wasn't saying anything else.

"You wouldn't want a place like that," the agent replied. "It's probably too much work for a young lady like you."

Ranma's eyes immediately shot the balding man a glare. She hated to be talked down to.

"Th-there's note on the property," he replied. "Some other real estate agents have tried to rent it out, even sell it, but…"

"But what?" she asked.

"Well, there's this group of thugs that's claimed the lot," the agent replied. "Other realtors have called the police to drive out the gang, but they scatter once the police arrive and just come back once they're gone. They've tried everything short of hiring full-time security for the place, but who wants to do that for an empty lot?"

Slowly the gears began to turn in Ranma's mind. "So you'll give me a discount if I take the place, right?"

Thwack!

Fortunately the agent appeared to have plenty of padding on his rear as he fell out of his chair. Clearly he hadn't been expecting Ranma to take the conversation in that direction.

"What?!" he shouted as he pulled himself to his feet. "You still want the place?"

"Of course!" the redhead replied. "No one else wants to rent it. And it's not like I can't handle a few punks by myself."

*****

Kosukegawa was exhausted. Chasing the shoplifter had proven to be much harder than he had expected. Thankfully Ginga and Motoko didn't appear to be winded in the least. Still, things didn't look good for the trio as they faced off with the fifty or so punks before them. If only the girls hadn't been trying to one up each other as they chased after the thief they could have prevented the thug from joining up with the rest of his gang.

"You girls just couldn't let it go," the spiky haired blond smirked as he turned around to face them. "But since you're here, I'm sure that you can make that up to me and the boys…."

"Feisty," one of the punks behind him sneered. "We're going to have fun breaking them in."

All around the lot the gathered punks chuckled. Several clinched their weapons – bats, pipes, chains, knifes, anything they could get their hands on.

Fighting for his breath Kosukegawa knew that he was worse then useless; he was dead weight to the two experienced fighters. Trapped inside the ever closing circle of punks he knew that the girls would try to keep him safe, limiting their effectiveness against their already overwhelming odds.

"Huh," a new voice shouted, drawing everyone's attention. "So this is M7?"

Everyone looked up at the newcomer. Standing atop the chain-link fence that closed off the lot from the rest of the neighborhood was a busty redhead.

Kosukegawa couldn't help but think that there was something familiar about the girl. Maybe it was the red silk shirt cut in a Chinese style, or the black pants, but something about her reminded him of someone….

"I guess someone else decided to come here and clean up the trash before me."

Several punks eyed their companions, seeking some kind of answer for what was going on.

"As the new tenant of the lot formerly known as M7," the redhead shouted, "I, Ranko Saotome, am going to clear out all the trash that have been infesting the lot."

"What's she talking about?" one of the less intelligent thugs asked his companion.

"She was stupid enough to rent out the lot," the spiky haired blond explained. "And she was stupid enough to come here all alone."

"But there's four of them now," a chain wielding thug stated.

"Yeah," a thug with a bat and several dozen nails in it added.

"But she didn't come with these other jokers," the blond replied. "But since she's here we can just take care of them all at once."

"She looks like she's going to be real fun to break in," the huge thug with a chrome fender in his hands added.

"Oh, this is going to be fun alright," Ranko sneered, "but not for you!"

Suddenly the redhead pounced. With a powerful jump she was in the air before suddenly stepping on a punk's head. Gently pushing off the now unconscious punk she propelled herself towards a small cluster of punks as she twisted into a spinning roundhouse that sent a startled punk flying.

Taking advantage of Ranko's distraction Ginga and Hibiki struck, each landing a powerful punch to the closest punks they could find. Outnumbered and facing armed opponents neither girl felt the need to conform to normal rules of combat as they lashed out at their opponents. A low blow by the shorter Ginga left one assailant screaming in pain in a higher octave than he was used to emitting while Hibiki kicked the large punk before her in the knee forcing the unfortunate individual's leg to bend in ways that it was not meant to.

But it was Ranko who was doing the most damage despite the fact that she was not fighting dirty. The redhead landed lightning quick kicks first to the stomach which doubled the punks over then followed up with an equally quick kick to the jaw that knocked out the victims. In a matter of seconds Ranko floored the six combatants circled around her.

Despite the supposed odds against the three girls Ranko was bored. In just a few quick seconds the redhead had knocked out another half dozen of the brawlers. With nearly half of the gang down the redhead knew that the fight was essentially over despite fact that the thugs were too stupid to realize that fact.

Well, there were a few who had realized it. Still, she needed to round up all of the punks to get her message across.

With a sigh the redhead picked up a stray ball and threw it at one of the fleeing punks. The baseball nailed the punk squarely in the back right between the shoulder blades and knocking him off balance. Picking up three more balls Ranko began to juggle them before sending them flying after three more thugs, nailing each in the leg.

Bored with the fighting, Ranko simply watched as Motoko and the small girl dispatched the remaining fighters.

"That's so weak," Ranko shouted as a lean thug with a mutilated baseball bat with nails and screws sticking out of it tried to blindside the tanned run. "You handle the bat like you've handled your life – you've struck out!"

Distracted and enraged by the redhead's commentary the thug failed to realize that Motoko had slipped under his guard. The meaty sound of her double palm strike to his stomach not only doubled him over but sent him flying into a stack of discarded tires.

"Can't you bums try to act like men," the redhead taunted as the short foreigner leapt over her attacker's punch. Deftly the small fighter grabbed the bald fighter's ears, actually, his rings, and yanked on them as she flipped over the over extended punk. "Oh, that's going to leave a mark."

Ranko couldn't help but shudder at the amount of blood that came out of the bald and now earring-less punk's ears.

With the studs/earrings in hand the smaller girl tossed the now bloody items at the closest of her new assailants, forcing the menacing punk to pause as he was forced to dodge the projectiles. That was more than enough time for the tan girl to slip past his guard as she launched a vicious kick to the groin and followed up with a savage knee to the face.

Despite the punishing blows the punk managed to endure the pain as he wrapped his massive arms around the tiny girl. Enduring several quick elbows to the back of his head the huge fighter picked the girl up before slamming her into the ground.

Down but not out, the foreign girl managed to cover up as a pair of punks began to kick her as she was pinned down. It didn't take her long to seize one of her attacker's leg as he pulled back to kick her again and sink her teeth into his calf.

"AAHH!!" the now off-balance punk shouted as he fell back, hitting his head on the ground.

A vicious double kick to the knee felled her remaining opponent, allowing her the opportunity to get off the ground while the remaining fighters avoided being entangled by their companions.

Motoko was as hard pressed as the smaller girl as she fought against the nearly overwhelming numbers. Facing a trio of weapon wielding foes she barely managed to avoid the chrome bumper that the largest of her opponents had swung at her. Leaping over the weapon she lashed out with a kick to the face that the large punk easily avoided as he dropped his weapon.

With his hand now free the shirtless titan showed surprising agility and speed as he wrapped his arms around Motoko.

Trapped in the powerful embrace of the shirtless titan, Motoko barely managed to kick the chain wielding punk as he swung at her with his chain wrapped fist. Despite the power behind the kick and the punk's charge, the bare-chested fighter didn't waver as he held the girl up as he squeezed the air out of her.

Hibiki struggled against the crushing grip of her opponent, barely managing to wedge her arms into position. Her hands desperately slipped between the shirtless boy's legs. With her hands on his family jewels she began to squeeze as hard as she could. With her back to him she failed to see his budging eyes as he fought to maintain his composure.

With his hold on her weakening, Hibiki managed to brace herself against him. Tilting her head forward she quickly brought it back. She could feel blood flowing down her neck and back. Hopefully it was his and not hers.

Clearing the stars out of her eyes Hibiki barely managed to slip out of the boy's bear hug as the last of the weapon wielding punks tried to hit her with his baseball bat. The meaty impact of the wooden bat against the muscled chest of the boy who had been holding her was sickening. Shocked by what he'd done the batboy barely realized that the girl he had tried to hit was now behind him.

Several quick strikes to his exposed kidneys later and the boy had dropped his bat. Another half dozen blows brought him to his knees.

"That's enough," Ranko stated as she put her hand on the taller girl's shoulder. "They're beaten and defenseless."

Hibiki glanced around at the carnage around them. The lot was full of injured punks though there were more than a few who were crawling to their feet or pulling themselves towards the large hole in the chain link fence.

Seeing that her companions were okay the taller girl nodded. "We just need to finish our business," she said as she pointed to the spiky haired blond by the fence.

"Yes," the short tanned girl replied. "Stealing is against the law."

*****

A/N

Don't expect everything to go exactly the way that the Change 123 manga went. As I'm sure you've noticed Botan didn't run into Hino, thus bringing Kosukegawa and Hino together, so I had to introduce her to him somehow. Ginga of course ran into Kosukegawa and Motoko/Mikiri the way it went down in the manga, but I really didn't want to rewrite the scene.

I don't know how they mark vacant lots/property in Japan, so I obviously made something up.

As always, Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes

I obviously don't own Ranma ½ or Change 123. I am using the characters and concepts for the purpose of entertainment only as I am not getting anything for this work other then the simple enjoyment of writing and having people criticize my writing.

I hope you all enjoy this work. Please read and review. And if you spot some errors (spelling or grammar, or even contingency errors) please let me know as I'm looking for a beta for this fic.

Thanks and enjoy.

*****

There were few things that bothered Motoko, well few that she had to deal with anyways. Given the unique ability to shuffle one of her many personas into the forefront to deal with her various problems the timid girl rarely ever had to deal with a problem herself.

It wasn't until she started to date Kosukegawa that she realized not all of her problems could be solved by HiFuMi (Hibiki/Fujiko/Mikiri) or Zero. As smart as Fujiko was that aspect of her couldn't solve problems of the heart; Mikiri, well, she was just too childlike and immature to understand the dynamics of the situation; Hibiki realized that there was something wrong, but her method of dealing with problems was always to beat up the source/cause of the issues – unfortunately both Motoko and Hibiki weren't exactly sure who the source of the problem was.

Sure, Kosukegawa was part of the problem as the boy seemed to be attracting various girls. First it had been that Kamen Rider fan-girl Hino who had interrupted their afternoon together, then it had been Ginga who's search for the Gundam or Gadam had derailed their plans to go to the arcade, and now it was the busty redhead Ranko who not only had helped them out in their fight against the shoplifter and his gang, but had also managed to take out more of said punks than she had.

Hibiki had shown incredible restraint in accepting that Kosukegawa just cared too much about everyone to not help them out, and his love of Kamen Rider, well, that was just unexplainable. Besides, she really couldn't just go in and beat up a fictional character (or the production staff, writers, actors, film crew, and anyone else associated with the show).

True, the second redhead had actually shown up for other reason, namely cleaning out the lot as she was the new tenant, but did Kosukegawa really have to invite her to dinner? Sure, Ginga was understandable as the tiny girl technically lived with Kosukegawa and his mom. Then of course he'd invited her along (because he knew that she'd be eating alone) but then he'd invited the busty redhead. Yes, she understood that Kosukegawa didn't want Ranko to be left out, but really, did he have to invite her?

*****

Ranma couldn't help but wonder if maybe things were looking up for her. Sure, she was in her girl form, but she'd been invited to join Kosukegawa, Ginga (the foreign girl) and Hibiki (even though Ranma knew that she was just a facet of Motoko), but it was a good way to get inside of the runt's house and home to see just what made the kid tick.

"So you're Ranma's sister," Kosukegawa said as he led the trio of girls to his house. "He's never mentioned that he had a sister."

"Uh, well, we really weren't raised together," the redhead replied. "Pops took him on a training trip the last ten or so years. He only came back to Japan a few years ago."

"So you're not living together?" Motoko asked.

"No, I'm just helping him start up his dojo," Ranko replied. "He had to do something for some club today so I went out to check out places that would suit him."

"Oh, so Ranma's a fighter like you?" Ginga asked.

"Of course he is!" Ranko snapped back automatically. Seeing the astonished/hurt look on the others' faces she added, "He's even stronger than me! He's been training with Pops ever since he could walk, and during their travels he's learned and fought many different styles. That's why our family school is called 'Anything Goes' – we learn from each style and each individual adapts various aspects to suit their individual needs and style. Pops being older and bigger has more power than either me or Ranma, but I'm the fastest of us, while Ranma is somewhere in the middle. We're use different moves and styles so to the untrained eye we probably look like we're using different fighting styles."

Dinner itself was a pleasant surprised. The mackerel (or was it tuna?) was tasty, but it was the company that really made the meal so enjoyable. Since moving out of the Tendo house Ranma had been forced to fend for herself and generally ate alone. Though no slouch when it came to cooking, Ranma failed to create anything as tasty as Kasumi's cooking. Still, at least she didn't have to endure Akane's attempts at cooking. The ramen vendor she'd saved from the bikers had given her male form a good discount, and the initial free meal, but sometimes one needed something other than ramen.

Eating alone as often as she was now doing proved to be very boring and eating at a vendor or restaurant (where fighting over food was not allowed) had forced her to change her eating habits. Though her male form still shoveled down food at school, she'd been forced to eat less to conserve the limited budget that Kannami had given her (while she was not in Nabiki's league, Ranma knew to budget herself as she worked towards starting her own dojo).

"Thanks for having us," Motoko said with a formal bow.

"Thanks for inviting us over," Ranko mimicked.

"I'm just glad to have some company," Kosukegawa's mother replied. The short, heavy-set woman gave off a motherly vibe that was - well - different than what Ranma had expected. Yes, she was very warm and friendly, and very talkative, but she also didn't hesitate to lay into her son. And there was the fact that she seemed to talk about him in the past tense as though he were not around anymore (probably because he was off doing his own thing so much now apparently) which always drove Kosukegawa crazy. "Feel free to come by for dinner, I love having someone to talk to over dinner."

"Mom," Kosukegawa pleaded. "I'm still here."

"But you never say anything unless it's 'Kamen Rider' this or 'Kamen Rider' that," the heavy set woman sighed. "Oh, look at the time – I hope we didn't keep you girls too late. You probably have to catch a train back to your house."

"Er, not really," Ranko replied. Technically Ranko didn't go to school, but Ranma did. "I've got tomorrow off, that's why I'm in town visiting Ranma."

"I should probably walk you back," Kosukegawa said as he glanced at Motoko.

"That's alright," Motoko replied. "It's late enough already; if you were to walk me home and come back you wouldn't get back until nearly midnight. I don't live too far from Ranma, so Ranko and I should be fine walking home together."

"Oh, okay," the scrawny boy replied dejectedly. Clearly he was looking forward to spending some time with Motoko/Hibiki. Thwarted in his endeavor, Kosukegawa simply nodded as the two girls departed.

As the pair walked in silence Ranma couldn't help but notice that Motoko/Hibiki was eying her, almost as though she were sizing her up. It was the kind of look that Shampoo and Ukyo had given each other when the two girls had initially met, a combination of 'I wonder if I can take her' and 'I'm prettier/cuter than she is'.

Never one for mind games or for the indirect path, she simply spoke up first. "Should I be calling you Motoko or Hibiki?"

The taller girl stopped dead in her tracks. Clearly she'd been jarred from her thoughts.

"You introduced yourself as Hibiki, but I noticed that Kosukegawa's mom referred to you as Motoko," Ranko stated. "And while Ranma's not the best with names, I'm pretty sure he'd have mentioned if there was a Hibiki in his class. They're not known for their sense of direction."

Motoko/Hibiki blinked before puzzling things together. "You can call me Motoko," she finally replied. "Only a few select people get to call me by any other name."

The redhead nodded. That really was a good way to explain things. In all honesty, if she didn't know that the girl had multiple personalities she would have accepted the answer. Then again, she really didn't want to let on that she knew more than she was supposed to.

For the rest of the way the pair walked in silence, each thinking that there was more to the other than they let on but neither one willing to share anything else.

*****

"Ranko is strong fighter," the wild girl stated.

Kosukegawa nodded. "She sure is."

Though the scrawny boy had initially been skeptical of the small tanned girl's fighting ability, he had come to accept that she was perhaps tougher than even Ralph's friend. It was odd to think that such a large and powerful fighter who was an accomplished 9-fang was held in lower regard than the tiny girl who stood before him. With no understanding of the significance of rank nor an understanding of the difference in those ranks, the scrawny boy simply accepted the fact that according to rank the tiny girl could best the large muscular man.

"Is Ranko's brother strong?" the tanned girl asked.

The lean boy blinked. "I guess," he replied. Though he'd never seen Ranma fight (aside from sparring with Motoko for the film) he had accomplished all those amazing feats of physical strength during P. E. class.

Ginga grinned as she pulled off her frilly dress. "Maybe Ranma and Ranko help find Gadam."

Again Kosukegawa blinked. Why hadn't he thought of that? Unlike Motoko (actually HiMiFu) who apparently had no links to the fighting world other than her fathers and new friends (courtesy of Kannami), Ranma probably knew several other high caliber fighters and could have even help them find Ginga's Gadam.

*****

The hot bath water slowly flowed around Hibiki as she lay in the bathtub. Given all that had happened the straightforward girl was surprised that she'd been able to maintain control of Motoko's body all day. It was one thing for Fujiko to do it, but for either Hibiki or Mikiri to do so was unusual. Then again, it was an unusual day. Sure, filming was odd, but it had been scheduled ahead of time so all of them had expected that. What they hadn't expected was the unknown assailant. Fortunately for Hibiki she had been able to handle things without having to ask for assistance from the others.

But it was the brief chase and eventual fight with the shoplifter and his gang that had been a real surprise. Sure, Ginga and Hibiki might be hard pressed to deal with such a large gang by themselves. If not for Ranko's appearance Hibiki was sure that one of them would have been injured significantly.

In truth it had been Ranko's appearance that had been the biggest problem for Hibiki. She wasn't sure why, but something about the redhead had drawn Fujiko's attention. If not for the dire situation on hand Hibiki was sure that the speedy and observant Fujiko would have stepped in. As it was she'd barely managed to convince the others to allow her to maintain control of Motoko's body.

The soothing warmth helped to relax the young fighter as she soaked in the tub. Slowly she felt Motoko calling her back as the timid girl regained control of her body. Shaking Motoko's head Hibiki slowly fought to maintain her hold of the other girl's body. Reaching out she quickly grabbed the journal and a pen. Scribbling her thoughts down, she smiled before finally relenting control of Motoko's body.

*****

A/N

I've posted a new poll on my profile. While I know that this fic has a relatively smaller following than my other active fic or complete fics, I hope that everyone who is an avid reader of my fics checks out the poll. You'll find a list of my current projects, most of which are still unposted, but which have at least a chapter done. Let me know how interested you would be in reading those projects or if you'd be willing to beta read some of those works in progress.

As always, Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes

I obviously don't own Ranma ½ or Change 123. I am using the characters and concepts for the purpose of entertainment only as I am not getting anything for this work other then the simple enjoyment of writing and having people criticize my writing.

I hope you all enjoy this work. Please read and review. And if you spot some errors (spelling or grammar, or even contingency errors) please let me know as I'm looking for a beta for this fic.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure it's Kannami, not Kanami.

Thanks and enjoy.

*****

By the time the weekend rolled around again Ranma was glad to have some help with his lot. Once Kosukegawa had let slip that Ranma had recently acquired a vacant lot the director (whom Ranma still couldn't remember his name) had volunteered the film crew and some of the actors in the film had helped him clean it up. The large pile of junk in the northwest corner of the lot had been arranged so that they could do the mutation scene; several potted plants and the trees in the southeast gave them another good spot for a fight scene, and the vacant office building was turned into the heroine's hidden base.

"You know you guys don't have to do this," Ranma said as he filled the hole around another post.

"But the director wanted us to help set up the lot," Kosukegawa replied as he held the large wooden post steady.

"Um, I think he meant that when we needed to use the lot for the movie," the pigtailed boy replied.

"Probably," the smaller boy smiled back.

"But this is what friends do for each other," Motoko added as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"But shouldn't you be helping Ginga find her gundam?" Ranma asked as he eyed the foreign girl.

"Is **Gadam**, not Gundam!" the smaller girl shouted. "Will help Ranma in exchange for Ranma helping find Gadam."

Shaking his head the pigtailed martial artist sighed. Despite his extensive travels, or perhaps because of it, Ranma had never actually had to construct a training ground. With his experience having used various training grounds and dojos, he had managed a rough idea of what he wanted and needed so that he could at least maintain his skills as well as any future students he could have.

"So what are these shafts for?" the large judo practitioner asked.

_Asuma, Azuma… no, that didn't sound right… Ozuma,_ Ranma thought as he tried to get the guy's name right. "My family style is an aerial style."

"Oh, so the poles and posts are for you to stand on to practice your balance?" the lean girl asked. "Like in that movie 'Karate kid'?"

Ranma blinked, _who is she again?_

"Ranma doesn't watch martial arts movies, Osada-san," Kosukegawa said as he eyed the post, "though I'm pretty sure that that movie is much older than we are."

"Actually," Ranma said as he casually leapt into the air before gracefully landing on top of the bamboo pole, "they're used to help me get some elevation" he launched himself into the air to a wooden post much taller than the bamboo one "because in an aerial battle fights aren't just determined on balance, but positioning as well."

"Not all fights are determined by solid footing," Ginga added as she climbed up a pole and then sprang at Ranma.

"Fighting in the air not about jumping far - it's about knowing where you can land," Ranma stated as he calmly dodged the smaller girl's attack. With no posts or shoots around Ginga simply twisted in the air and landed gently on the ground. "And of course you're not always going to be dealing with trees or bamboo shoots. Sometimes it oil drums, stacks of tires, or whatever."

'_He's fast, but also has great balance_,' Motoko could hear Fujiko in the back of her mind. '_I wonder if Ranko is anything like her brother._'

'_She's much faster_,' Hibiki clarified. '_She's definitely a speed type. Ranma appears to be more defensive_.'

"But you've practiced judo before right Saotome-san?" the large boy asked.

Ranma stifled an involuntary shudder at the addition of "san", not to mention the use of his family name.

"How many times do I have to tell you guys," he said slightly flustered, "don't call me Saotome-san: just call me Ranma."

"Okay Ranma," the tall, lean girl said with a nod.

_Why is she here?_ Ranma asked himself. _Oh yeah, that bet we had during the volleyball game_. With a shrug the pigtailed martial artist jumped off his post and landed by the tall girl. _What was her name again_? "Thanks Rei."

"So what's this for?" the tall girl asked as she leaned against the wooden structure.

"It's a high bar," the pigtailed boy explained. "They're great for pull ups or chin ups; you know - upper body strength. It's also good for trying to learn to balance yourself on your hands."

Not wanting to show off too much, Ranma leapt into the air completely unaided by his ki. Deftly he grabbed the bar before swinging his body so that the momentum carried his entire body over the bar before carefully stopping at the apex of the semi-circle he's just completed. Slowly he twisted his body so as not to give gravity any reason to pull him down to the ground. After two full rotations he pushed himself off the bar before nimbly flipping and then landing on his feet.

"Wow," Ozuma exclaimed.

'_Oh, that looks like fun_,' Mikiri shouted inside of Motoko's head. '_I want to do that!_'

"So, what about the circle over here?" Osada asked.

"Well, I've learned lots of different styles," Ranma explained, "and that circle is great for regular sparring. I'm sure that there aren't too many people who are able to handle the poles, beams, and bamboo shoots right off the bat."

Looking over his lot with a growing sense of pride, Ranma couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Ranma," Ozuma said in a quiet tone that immediately caught Ranma's attention, "would you mind if Osada kept a dog here?"

Involuntarily the pigtailed martial artist relaxed. Dogs he could deal with.

"She found a stray puppy but her parents won't let her keep it at their house," the muscular boy added. "And since you've got this huge lot…"

"Fine," Ranma replied. "But she's going to have to take care of it. That means shots, training, and feeding it."

Ozuma smiled, "Thanks. Don't worry; we'll come here after school to take care of it."

An odd sensation hit him as the larger boy rushed off to tell Osada the good news. Blinking, Ranma couldn't help but note that he'd been able to help someone out without having to resort to martial arts or fighting. True, it was because he had space around his new dojo, but really it was much more than that. Perhaps the rules of his art could also apply to more than just the art.

"I can't believe how much work we've managed to get done," Kosukegawa exclaimed as he hefted his full bag over his shoulder. "But there's still a lot more to do too!"

"Don't worry, I've got some repair men coming tomorrow," Ranma replied as he set down a bucket full of broken glass. "Tomorrow we'll have a working bathroom and the windows will be repaired."

"That's good," Ozuma sighed as he threw several full garbage bags into the dumpster. "It's not that McDonald's isn't a good place to eat but all that fatty food is bad for us athletes."

'Gorilla' Saitou nodded. "It was a fun break, but going a few blocks just to use the bathroom is kind of ridiculous."

Despite his flabby appearance Saitou clearly had some muscle, though he could definitely use some endurance. Fortunately for him lifting the tires and throwing out some of the large objects had not been too taxing for him as the short bursts of strength and power were best suited for those tasks. Paired with the more athletic Ozuma, the two taller boys had done most of the back breaking work with Ranma.

With the girls primarily tasked with cleaning and putting those plastic strips into the fence which Kotaru (or was it Katou?) and Yamato (or was it Yamatou?) had mended. The formerly dirty lot had been transformed after a hard afternoon of work. Not only was a good portion of the northern half of the lot now set up with poles, posts, bamboo shoots, stacked up tires, and even empty water barrels/drums as well an area for him to perform various kata or even sparring (though the inside of the building was better suited for regular sparring and lessons), but the southern half of the lot had been cleaned and cleared for a small koi pond and several freshly planted trees.

"Thanks for helping out," Ranma said as he waved at his retreating classmates.

"No problem," Ozuma replied. "We'll be back tomorrow morning. Make sure you have some lunch ready for us."

"And not fast food!" Saitou added.

*****

"I can't believe we're doing a café," he sighed. "That's so lame."

"Oh shush," Rei ordered as she tried to measure his arms. "And quite moving around so much, I can't get a good reading."

"So this is why you guys agreed to help me out," the pigtailed boy said as he held his arms out for Rei.

"Of course not," Osada replied. "We were helping out because we owed you guys from the volleyball game."

"Sure, helping us out just as the class was supposed to meet to discuss what we're doing for the festival," Ranma added.

"Hey, it's not our fault you guys had planned to fix up your lot at the same time," Rei shot back as she measured his other arm.

"Yeah," Osada added, "at least we paid attention in class and let the class rep know what we had voted on before the meeting so that we could come help out at your place."

Ranma sighed.

"They do have a point," Botan said as she came out from behind a curtain. "If it's any consolation to you, I didn't want to do a maid café either."

"Fine, we're doing the café," Ranma relented. "But why do we have to set things up here? This is supposed to be my dojo!"

"The school's already packed with people building their sets," Ozuma replied.

"Not to mention that the bathrooms are full of people changing and getting fitted already," Osada added. "Here at least we have two separate but very close changing rooms and enough space to make the outfits. Besides, with all the outfits that have gone missing lately we decided that it was best if we store the outfits off school grounds."

Turning to look at Ozuma he noted that the larger boy was avoiding his gaze. "So this is why you knew that you'd be coming over every day after school."

Still averting his eyes Ozuma nodded.

"I don't mind you guys using the place," Ranma stated. "But next time, just ask ahead of time."

"Sorry," Rei muttered. "I guess we should have just asked you instead of trying to force things on you."

"No harm no foul, right?" Kannami said as he waited to be measured.

From the slight smirk on his face Ranma knew that he needed to let the matter go. Besides, this was supposed to be a typical, normal high school experience, even if he really didn't care for it.

"I heard that you can cook," the blond stated. "I'm sure we could set up a hibachi grill for you. That'll get you out of the monkey suit."

*****

As much as he hated to admit it, Ranma found that he was really enjoying the school festival. Between the quick twenty minute shifts at his class's café as the hibachi and okonomiyaki chef, and his time helping advertise for the movie, the pigtailed boy was enjoying 'normal' high school life. Sure, it wasn't as fun as training or as satisfying as figuring out how to beat a rival's new technique, but it was good clean fun of a different sort.

Having learned from Ukyo (one of the best if not the best in his opinion), Ranma's Hiroshima-okonomi style was beginning to draw more customers than the café as patrons waited up to forty minutes to get a seat at the grill. Looking up at the clock then down at the box of whole cabbages the pigtailed chef shook his head.

"Ozuma," he shouted, "I'm going to need more cabbage. I've only got enough to make it till noon."

The raven haired Osada quickly poked her head into the makeshift storage room from. Glancing over the pile of ingredients she nodded, "Get some more squid, shrimp, pork, and cheese too. Ranma, are you sure you have enough sauce?"

The martial artist shrugged, "I should have enough left for another two, maybe three shifts, but only if I start making them Kansai style."

Osada nodded before withdrawing her head. "Saitou; get some more of the sauce from Ranma's place."

Though many of their classmates had spent the past week at his still student less dojo, only Osada and Ozuma had keys to the locks there (aside from Ranma of course). While they had stockpiled several large clay jars of sauce from an out of town restaurant (he had to have Konatsu secretly deliver it from Ukyo's restaurant) at his dojo, only Ranma, Saitou, and Ozuma were strong enough to lift the jars (which they transported using a sturdy cart).

"Don't forget to bring someone to help steer the cart," Rei shouted from the kitchen.

"Man, I'm glad that we didn't get a stall outside," Osada said loud enough to be heard over the rest of the girls in the kitchen. "Imagine all the trips Ozuma and Saitou would be making to get more ingredients."

"Yeah, if we'd been outside we wouldn't be forced to limit the amount of time we could have the grill on," Rei added. "But we'd be making a killing if we were out there."

Ranma shrugged as he walked into the kitchen area. Making sure that he was a good distance from the sinks (even though he'd used liberal amounts of waterproof soap) he smiled at the girls as a few of them turned to look at him.

"That fiancée of yours must be jealous," Kannami joked. "I don't know of many girls that wouldn't be jealous of the fact that their fiancé could out cook them."

A cold chill ran up and down the chef's spine that had nothing to do with the cool storage unit he'd been standing in. Unnoticed by the distracted cook was the fact that several of his female classmates had stood frozen in their tracks though fortunately no one dropped any plates or cups that they were stacking for the boys to take outside to wash.

"You're engaged?" Osada asked.

"Arranged marriage," the blond answered for the raven haired boy.

Ranma nodded. "My pops wants me to marry his best friend's daughter. Pops and Mr. Tendo trained together under the grandmaster and agreed to have us married to join the schools."

"Huh," Rei exclaimed. "Weird; but I guess that's because I don't know anything about dojos and whatever."

Again the pigtailed boy nodded. "It's complicated stuff."

The ringing of the alarm clock quickly distracted the others as Ranma glanced at Kannami.

"Where are Kosukegawa, Miashita, and the rest of the next shift?" Rei shouted, clearly having moved onto the next subject.

"I think he had to do help hand out fliers for the movie," Ranma replied.

"Hey, you need to get back on the grill," Rei shouted. "Time is money!"

The bustling café kept the entire class busy. Even with the change of shifts between the students Ranma knew that many of the students were working an extra twenty minutes to help cover the large number of patrons and customers that the café and the grill were drawing in. Not only was Ranma's okonomiyaki drawing in a good crowd while it was open, but the long lines waiting for the few open spots at the grill kept the café open for the rest of the hour that the grill was closed.

"Hey Kosukegawa," Rei shouted as she spotted the runty boy, "it's your turn to wash the dishes."

"Sorry," he apologized. "We need four drinks upstairs for the Subculture Research Society."

"Fine," Rei replied. Glancing at the full tables the commanding basketball player waved at one of the free girls. "Gettou-san, you're in the film right? Why don't you go up and bring the director and film crew their drinks?"

"Sure," Motoko said with a polite bow. Loading her tray with the four drinks she quickly left.

"One shrimp, squid, scallops, octopus, extra cheese, and extra sauce," the pigtailed boy stated as he eased the okonomiyaki onto a large cardboard plate. "Two squid, octopus, cheese, and extra cabbage," he announced as he skillfully served two more customers.

Beside the three hot plates several patrons stood up, their empty seats quickly claimed by the mob of waiting customers hungry for the delicious grilled food.

"Sorry sir," Ranma said the egg timer rang. "I've got to turn off the grill. Everyone at the grill will get their order; everyone else will have to wait until noon."

Several customers groaned. Though they had waited since the grill had last closed they were still left wanting due to the still growing crowd that had grown after each twenty minute session.

"We're sorry that we couldn't serve everyone," Kannami said as he approached the grill. "We know that many of you have been waiting for a while and that you have other classes that you want to see and stop by, so we'll have the grill open for an additional twenty minutes for take out orders."

"What?" Ranma hissed as he added more cabbage to several okonomiyaki.

"Don't worry," the blond stated, "I talked with Rei and we'll close the grill from 1pm to 3pm so that you can see the sights."

*****

Hibiki couldn't help but wonder at the recent turn of events that had lead to the roof. Though she was glad to be away from the horde of hentai boys who had been mentally stripping Motoko, Hibiki couldn't help but snicker at the primary persona. Compared to the timid girl, Hibiki and Fujiko had it easy. Though they occasionally crossed someone who might be tempted to retaliate, HiFuMi was confident in their ability to handle any situation should it ever turn physical. Unfortunately for Motoko though the other personas couldn't help her deal with the embarrassing situations that she and the others got her into. Then again, if not for Hibiki, Motoko would have taken a bad spill as she'd fled the pack of hentai fan boys when she'd reached the stairs. Unfortunately Hibiki had managed to flash Motoko's panties to the boys as she flipped in the air while avoiding any injury.

"Hibiki?" a familiar voice called out.

"Oh, Ginga," the athletic girl replied as she looked up towards the roof. "So you came out to enjoy the festival?"

"Lots of people come to festivals," the tiny girl replied. "So it's a good place to search for the Gadam. So what are you doing out there?"

Careful not to chuckle too loud as she could hear several fan boys searching for her in the classroom Hibiki pulled herself up. "Hehe, long story," she replied. "I'll be right up."

For an athletic girl like herself it didn't take long for Hibiki to climb up the two stories. Pulling herself up the rainspout and then the chain-link fence she was surprised to see that no one else was on the roof. Sure, there wasn't much going on up here, but it was usually one of the more popular spots.

"Oh, Gyoutenmaru came too, huh? Come here, land on my arm."

"Gyoutenmaru's decided on his master… he won't land on anyone else's arm," Ginga explained.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hibiki asked as she tried to think of instances where the predatory bird landed on someone. "He landed on Kosukegawa's mom's head before."

"That was in thanks for the people who are taking care of me," the foreign girl replied. "In the village he would often land on the head of the villagers and cattle."

An oddly humorous image formed in Hibiki's mind. Suppressing a laugh she shrugged instead.

"So this Gadam person really strong?" she asked as she wiped the image from her mind.

"Instead of strong I would say….. Incredible.

"All of the kids used to make fun of the Gadam for being weak. That was when the Gadam first came to the village. Back then the Gadam was little more than a burden. But before we knew it the Gadam was the best at sumo, mountain climbing, and had hunted many ferocious beasts. Pretty soon the Gadam had killed enough beasts to be ranked among the Ten Fangs. Shortly after that the Gadam became the strongest fighter in the village and became the village protector."

"Hamm…. Is it cool if I go and beat this Gadam person myself?"

Startled, Ginga eyed Hibiki.

"Hibiki cannot beat Gadam."

_This feeling again_, Hibiki thought as she loosened her blouse. "Then you want to try me one on one?" The feeling I got when I saw Kosukegawa with that Izuru chick, and when he's with Ginga… that same feeling… "First one on the ground loses."

Standing up Ginga smiled, "Sounds fun – lets do it."

"Alright," Hibiki said as she slipped into a standard karate stance. "Here I come."

Using her size and reach Hibiki threw a powerful right cross. Expecting the smaller girl to dodge, she was surprised when Ginga simply countered with a left cross of her own. Unwilling to back of each girl connected with their respective punches. Startled by Ginga's unflinching attack Hibiki smiled eagerly.

Her momentary lapse cost her as the smaller girl deftly grabbed her tie before yanking hard. Using her smaller size against her taller opponent Ginga clinched her teeth as her forehead connected with Hibiki's nose.

"Hehe, how's that?" the younger girl asked as Hibiki fell back.

"Two easy," the taller girl replied as she connected with a vicious knee to the other girl's face.

Staggering to retain her balance Ginga smiled back at her opponent. This fight was far from over.

*****

Kosukegawa signed as he set down the box of used and dirty dishes. With Ozuma and Saitou off to get more supplies for the grill only Kosukegawa and Kannami remained to do the dishes until the others came back or the next shift came in.

"It's a good thing we managed to find those disposable plates," the runty boy said. "If not for Ranma and the grill we probably wouldn't have too much business."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," the blond replied. "We'd probably get as much business as the other cafes, but with Ranma we're getting a lot of attention. There aren't many restaurants around here that serve Hiroshima Style Okonomiyaki. And none of the other students can do anything close to what Ranma is capable of with the grill."

"Yeah," Kosukegawa chuckled, "a few are grilling meat, but nothing like the hibachi grill or okonomiyaki that Ranma's grilling.

"But you know, it's surprising to see you out here doing dishes."

"Oh, is it?" the blond replied. "But this is why I came back to school – to try and have an ordinary high school experience and life."

"Yeah, I guess this is pretty typical," the smaller boy seconded.

Over the din of the crowds the runty boy managed to hear something. Instinctively he looked up. The glint of steel caught his eye, drawing it to Ginga's spear as it leaned against the chain-link fence. "Oh no," he muttered.

"What is it?" the blond asked as he followed his friend's eyes.

"Ginga's here," the excitable boy explained. Though Kannami had yet to meet the energetic fighter Kosukegawa couldn't help but think that sooner or later he would get to know the small girl very well.

Hearing Hibiki's distinct battle cry he dropped his towel and quickly ran to the back stairwell.

*****

A/N

No, I'm not shipping Ranma with an OC. I had to make up a name for one of the basketball players that played on the girls' team as they don't list anyone other than Botan. She is also the girl shouting/ordering Kosukegawa to do the dishes during the school festival when he goes back to order some coffee for the President/director and the guys advertising the movie.

As always, Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes

I obviously don't own Ranma ½ or Change 123. I am using the characters and concepts for the purpose of entertainment only as I am not getting anything for this work other then the simple enjoyment of writing and having people criticize my writing.

I hope you all enjoy this work. Please read and review. And if you spot some errors (spelling or grammar, or even contingency errors) please let me know as I'm looking for a beta for this fic.

Yes, I've finally gotten around to updating other fics beside the one that seems to have consumed my time recently. That's just how it goes sometimes. I realize I shouldn't have started so many different fics, but I'm the type of person who gets a few hundred ideas and if I don't try and put them down then I just can't get anything else done. At least I'm only posting the most relevant ideas/fics that I have and not all of them as I'm sure I'd be running on every tangent thought/idea possible and thus stretching myself very thin.

Thanks and enjoy.

*****

In all of his short school life Ranma had never really experienced the school festival. Sure, he'd heard about them, he'd even managed to wreck more than a few of them, but to actually be part of the whole atmosphere – that was completely different. Walking around the grounds with Hinata… no, Hina… no, that wasn't it… Hino, yeah, Hino – walking around the grounds with Hino was fun.

"So you just transferred here, right Saotome?" the redhead asked.

"Yeah," the raven haired boy replied as he gracefully balanced the two trays of sauce over his head.

"I guess we have something in common then," she added as she tried to make small talk.

Never one for small talk, Ranma nodded. He couldn't help but note that Hino was very graceful, fluid almost, as she walked. "You dance or something?" he asked even before he realized what he was saying. Eyes following her smooth steps slowly climbed her lean but muscular legs up to her firm but and hips.

Hino giggled even as she sidestepped the question, "Why do you ask?" A light but graceful twirl spun her out of the way of one of the many running children on the grounds.

Suddenly Ranma's eyes shot up to her face as a light blush reached his cheeks. "I, uh, just, um, noticed how, um graceful you seem to be as you walk," he spit out.

"Thank you," Hina replied.

An odd flicker of light or movement caught the pigtailed martial artist's eye. Looking up he spotted an unusual bird just as it let out a deafening screech.

"Gyoutenmaru!" the slender redhead exclaimed as she caught sight of the bird of prey.

Suddenly the large bird descended on the pair.

Ranma could tell that the predatory bird wasn't moving in for a kill. Rather than swooping down quickly to overwhelm its prey, the bird had spread its wings wide to slow its descent. Watching as those around them scattered like flies, the raven haired martial artist simply let the redhead walk into the open as she raised her arm, offering it to the large bird.

"You followed me all this way?" she asked as the hawk gently landed on her outstretched arm. "You're such a hopeless boy Gyoutenmaru."

_She's the runt's Gadam?_ Ranma thought as things slowly added up.

"GADAM!" a familiar voice shouted from above.

_Hino-san is Gadam?!_ Kosukegawa thought as Ginga clawed at the chain-link fence.

"And Ginga too I see," the redhead added as she glanced up at the roof.

Ranma watched as the hawk nudged Hino.

"That bird is Hino-san's pet?"

"What is that bird?"

"Who is she?"

"The princess has such a regal pet."

All around them people talked as they slowly gathered their feet beneath them.

"Yes, he's called Gyoutenmaru," Hino stated with a gentle smile. "As long as he doesn't sense danger he won't do anything."

"He doesn't bite?"

"That's so cool!"

"Is he a hawk or an eagle?"

"Can I touch him?"

"GADAM!"

The shout drowned out all other voices, silenced all the questions and drew everyone's attention to the roof as the diminutive form climbed over the fence. Shocked by the sudden appearance of the predatory bird the still uncertain crowd watched in stunned silence as a tiny figure leapt off the roof. Grabbing hold of the giant banner the fearless fighter descended – her flight just as quick and equally terrifying, though for a different reason.

"Ginga!" Kosukegawa shouted as he pressed his face against the cool metal.

"Run!" someone shouted.

"She's falling right on top of us!"

"She's crazy!"

"Outta my way!"

No stranger to chaos Ranma stood calmly as virtually everyone around him scattered once again. _That's pretty clever._

"Someone's falling!"

"They're falling here!"

"I am Ten Fang Gada Ginga," the runt proclaimed. "I have come to challenge you…" the runt landed in a crouch, completely unharmed by the impressive jump, then lashed out with a well thrown spear "for the title of Gadam!"

Just as he expected the spear flew clear of Hino and Gyoutenmaru. _This should be interesting_, the raven haired boy thought as he took a step back to give the two fighters room to fight. People all around him slowly gathered themselves again.

"What's 'Gadam'?" someone asked.

"Is Hino a Gundam pilot?"

"Not Gundam, 'Gadam'!"

"What the hell is that?"

"Did she just throw a spear?"

"Shouldn't we call the police?"

"I don't wish to interrupt the school festival any further," Hino stated as she took a firm stance, "so if you would please speak in Japanese Ginga, so that everyone else can understand. Did you speak with the elder before coming?"

"No matter what the elder says I will never forgive the Gadam for violating the law and leaving the village!" Ginga shouted defiantly. "That is why I will defeat you and return to the village as Gadam!"

*****

"Hino-san is the Gadam?" Kosukegawa exclaimed as he clung to the fence. "That… that doesn't make any sense…"

"Stopping them is out of the question this time."

The runty boy turned around and glanced at his companion. "Fujiko-san!" _She must have taken over after Hibiki was knocked out_.

Brushing her head Fujiko felt the bump that had apparently knocked out Hibiki. "For them this is the root of an important rite of passage among the Gada," she stated. "However savage we may see it, we have no right to tell them that 'violence is wrong'."

"But two people capable of beating Hibiki-kun are going to fight each other!" Kosukegawa shouted in protest. "Neither of them is going to be alright! If this turns out to be another fight like with Zero there won't be anything we can do about it!"

"They may very well get hurt!" she conceded. "But if what Ginga showed us is truly a technique used by the Gadam, things won't turn out the way they did with Zero."

"R-really?" the runty youth asked, clearly unsure of the situation.

"In any case, I think it would be best if we went down there immediately," the calmest of Motoko's persona's suggested. "I would like to witness the Gadam's true strength for myself." _And to see if we can compete with her_.

*****

"This is a tribal ritual of the Gigi?"

"I thought Hino was an upper-class heiress?"

"That runt knows Hino-san?"

"They're really going to fight?"

"Two servings of the grilled squid," Ranma stated as he turned his back to the impending fight.

"W-what?" the vendor, a kid from the senior class, muttered as he slowly brought his focus back to his duties at his class's stall. "Um, right away."

Throwing down his payment, Ranma snatched up the two sticks of grilled seafood before turning around to watch the fight. _Man, these guys need to learn how to work fights better_.

"Why am I not surprised?" Kannami asked as he walked up to the raven haired martial artist.

"Whaph?" the pigtailed boy muttered through the bite of chewy squid.

"Of course you're used to people selling food at your fights," the blond stated.

Swallowing his mouthful Ranma shook his head as he offered the blond the other stick.

"No thanks."

"I'm usually don't have time to get food since I'm in the main event," Ranma stated. "Man, I should have gotten a drink."

The pair watched as Hino removed her oven mitts. "Empty hands or weapons?" the redhead asked as she removed her apron.

"Empty hands!" the smaller Ginga declared.

Both fighters eased into their stances, eyeing each other as they prepared themselves. All around them the tension built as Ginga slowly inched forward.

"Both Ginga and Hino-san are totally caught up in this!" a familiar voice explained through labored breaths.

With both fighters still eyeing each other Ranma stole a glance back. Kosukegawa, with Motoko trailing behind him, navigated the growing crowd. Polite, and too small to really force his way through, the runty boy took several turns more than necessary as he avoided pushing and shoving anyone as he cleared the awestruck crowd.

"Friends of yours?" Kannami asked as the smaller boy appeared beside him.

"That… that foreign kid is…" Kosukegawa panted as he fought for breath, "staying… at my… house."

_Something's wrong with her_, Ranma thought as he stole a glance at Motoko_. She's not wearing glasses, and she looks slightly battered… Which one is she?_

Sudden and unexpected movement caught Ranma's eyes, bringing his focus back to the two fighters facing off. Ginga, showing daring tact, slowly walked into the taller Hino's range. Suddenly the redhead lashed out with a feint that forced the smaller girl to react. Acting instinctively Ginga jumped back, leaving her arms open as the redhead wrapped her hand around the smaller girl's wrist. A quick flick of the wrist and fluid turn at the hips forced the tanned girl to jump to reduce the pressure on her elbow and shoulder.

_Textbook aikido, _Ranma thought_, but an interesting combo_.

A knee connected with the smaller girl's face, sending her flying.

_The perfect counter, _Fujiko thought_, being able to avoid any damage while still managing to land a solid counter. That's nothing like the reckless full-body counters that Hibiki is so fond of_. "There's no way that someone as reckless as Hibiki could defeat her."

"Who-what do you mean?" the shaken and breathless Kosukegawa asked as he turned around to face Fujiko/Motoko.

"Simply put, it's like rock, paper, scissors," the scuffed up fighter explained.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" the smaller boy repeated unsure of the point his companion was trying to make.

"In the event that two fighter's experience and strengths are equivalent, the deciding factor will be in the styles employed by the users," Kannami elaborated. "Basically Hibiki, the rock, is a powerful offense, and Gadam/Hino-san, the paper, is powerful defense. A good defense beats a good offense."

_Ginga knew this, that's why she used the Gadam's technique against Hibiki_, Fujiko thought as she glanced at Ranma and Kannami.

"That's so over-rated," Ranma stated as he finished off the first of his grilled treats. "You make it sound like a pokemon game – fire beats plant, water beats fire, and plant beats water. It's not that simple. A good fighter learns to adapt. But even a smart fighter can be beaten by an overpowering opponent. Conversely a powerful fighter could be beaten by a weaker but smarter opponent.

"Yes, Hibiki is reckless, but so is Ginga. They'll lose if they were to simply rush in recklessly; but if they have a good game plan then they have a good chance at winning. Ginga had a plan, but Hino saw threw it and forced Ginga to abandon her strategy. In this case the fight is going to be decided by who can overcome the other fighter's advantages and strengths by making them weaknesses."

Shaking his head Kosukegawa shouted, "This isn't the time to talk about that!" Taking a few steps forward he walked towards the two fighters. "Ginga, are you all right?!"

"Stay back!" Hino and Ranma shouted simultaneously.

Slightly startled by Ranma's inclusion into the situation Hino shook her head as she kept her eyes trained on her opponent.

"B-but why?" the stunned boy pleaded.

"Though a he may lose his fighting spirit, until a Gada is taken to the limit of his consciousness his fight will not end," the redhead explained.

"But, she can't stand... no one could stand up after that," Kosukegawa mumbled.

Ranma rolled his eyes. _Kid really doesn't know anything about fighting_.

"No," Ginga uttered defiantly. "I can stand Kosugaa…"

Pulling herself off the ground the tiny girl lifted her head. Blood gushed from her bloody nose and cut lip. Pushing herself up to one foot she wiped some of the access blood from her chin and mouth. "I was worried that you were going to go easy on me," the smiling girl said, a determined look in her eyes, "just so that you could pass on the title of Gadam to me. Now I know that you're serious about this fight."

"Naturally," Hino replied with a serious but warm look, "you are my best friend."

"FRIENDS!!" Ginga shouted as she pulled herself up to both feet. "Don't make me laugh!"

Stunned silence filled the school grounds as no one knew what to say.

"A Gadam is supposed to risk his life to protect the village!" the tiny girl shouted. "A Gadam who throws away that responsibility…"

_You must draw out more of the Gadam's true strength Ginga_, Fujiko thought as she watched Ginga

_They're friends_, Kosukegawa thought as he tried to process everything, _but they're fighting. And because they're friends they can fight seriously…_.

Leaping into the air Hino dodged Ginga's attempted sweep. Like an angel gliding through the air the redhead gracefully twisted before landing on her opponent's outstretched hand. Winding up, she kicked out with a straight forward kick that the pinned down Ginga barely managed to dodge. Fully expecting her opponent to dodge she followed up with a powerful axe kick to the back of Ginga's head.

Absorbing the kick Ginga freed her hand at the moment of impact as her opponent's weight shifted from one foot to the other. Springing to her feet as he opponent regained her feet Ginga advanced on Hino as though completely unfazed by the blows that had already connected with her skull.

Seeing through her opponent's feint, the smaller girl allowed Hino to complete her spin which she knew would lead either a spinning back hand or an elbow. Seeing her opponent extending her elbow Ginga lunged ahead. The vicious elbow was intercepted by Ginga's savage teeth as the smaller girl latched onto her opponent.

"Wow, girls really are vicious," someone muttered.

"That foreign girl is barbaric!" someone else added.

Offhandedly Ranma flicked several pieces of grilled meat at the offending speakers, silencing them so that he could pay attention to the fight.

Using her size to her opponent's over-eagerness against her, Hino lifted Ginga off her feet as she completed the spin. Slamming her palms together as she fell back, the redhead drove her opponent's head into the ground, freeing her elbow in the process.

"Th-that's enough!" Kosukegawa shouted in protest, only Ranma's vice-like grip on his shoulder kept the boy from interfering with the fight.

"This is amazing!"

"I can't believe that they're doing this without wires!"

If not for the fact that he was holding the small boy back, Ranma would have rolled his eyes. Clearly these people didn't know anything about fighting.

"Hino-san's awesome!"

"It's like she's dancing!"

Undeterred by the punishment that she'd endured, Ginga flipped onto her feet.

"That kid's awesome!"

"Yeah, she took all that punishment yet she's still on her feet!"

_Her stance is broken_, Botan observed, _now is the best time for the small one to take advantage. Fight back!!_

Well within Hino's defense, the smaller Ginga pressed her advantage, driving the redhead back with swift but powerful punches.

_Once she recovers her stance you'll lose any chance of winning_, Fujiko thought as she followed the frantic pace of the fight. _If_ _you let up now you'll give up your best chance for winning_.

_I won't stop_, Ginga thought as she pressed her advantage, _not until I've breathed my last breath_. Swinging her left fist for an uppercut she set up her right cross. _This is my last chance!_

"Go loin-cloth!" someone shouted their support.

"Hino-san's so strong!" someone else shouted from a distant classroom.

"They're both great!"

Looking up Kosukegawa looked up at his schoolmates shouting their encouragement from their classroom windows.

"Finish it in one shot shorty!"

"Get away Hino-san!"

"Way to go kid!"

"You're fantastic Hino-san!"

Slamming her fist into Hino's injured elbow Ginga gasped as the redhead connected with a right cross to the smaller girl's cheek. The powerful knee to the ribs rocked her, sending the smaller girl back and providing Hino with enough time and space to take the offensive.

_She's going on the attack_, Fujiko noted as she leaned forward to watch the sudden turn in the fight.

A powerful forearm blow to face knocked Ginga's head back even as her body continued to move forward.

"Ginga!" Kosukegawa shouted as he watched Hina land punishing blows to the small girl staying at his house. _It's not my place to stop them… This is a fight for the Gada_.

Slowly Ginga's punches began to grow weaker and less accurate as the beating she endured was slowly catching up with her.

Just fall down, Hino pleaded mentally. You've made your body so much stronger, but please, just fall down.

Seeing the pained look in her eyes Ranma momentarily eased his grip on Kosukegawa's shoulder. Seizing the opportunity, the runty boy dashed into the clearing just as Hino sent Ginga flying with a wicked uppercut.

"That's enough!" he shouted as he stepped between the fighters.

Startled by the sudden appearance of the runty boy Hino failed to notice Ginga's counter attack. The weak kick struck her in the side of her face.

_Hehe_, Ginga thought as she crumpled to the ground, _that's the first time I ever hit her in the face_.

"I-I'm sorry!" Kosukegawa apologized as he realized just what happened.

"Dumbass!"

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Get out of the way Kosukegawa!"

Hino staggered as she tried to recollect her composure.

"I-I know that this is an important Gada fight," the runty youth said as he turned to a still stunned Hino, "but you, you both looked so sad… I just… I just…"

Standing up straight Hino smiled compassionately. "You're amazing, Kosukegawa-san… It's fine. Please, don't be concerned."

Walking past him she stood tall despite her petit frame, "Just now, when I lost my focus a moment ago, Ginga was able to capitalize."

_Oh no_, Ginga thought as she rolled to her elbows. _I've got nothing left… I barely have the strength to sit up… she's going to finish me for sure_.

"That was very well done, Ginga," the redhead added as she took another step towards the smaller girl. "Ginga…" she said as she crouched down, "you weren't upset about me breaking the law of the Gadam. It was that I never gave you a proper goodbye, wasn't it?" A tear streamed down her unblemished cheek. "I'm so sorry."

With the fight completely over and the girls going all mushy, Ranma yawned as he turned around. Such displays were so unbecoming of fighters of his caliber.

_To think that she could use the technique Hibiki used on her in such a situation_, Fujiko thought as Ranma went to pick up the two trays of food stuff. _Both Ginga and Gadam are quite impressive_.

"Fujiko-san," Kannami whispered loud enough for just the sharp ears of the fighter. "You were watching Hino-san quite intently. Do you intend to take out some 'insurance' on her?"

Seeing that no one was paying attention to them she glanced at the perceptive blond genius. "I don't believe that miracles can happen twice. I may not like using such methods, but I won't allow anything to happen to Kosukegawa."

Kannami weighed her words, "So you mean to say that you had a premonition?"

"Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it an unnoticeably small amount of anger."

*****

The sound of Ginga's labored breathing (due to a busted lip and bloody nose) carried through the thin wall separating Kosukegawa's room and the foreign girl's. Hearing her snores he couldn't help but think back to the events of the day – Hino-san and Ginga fighting, feeling Hino's breasts in the nurse's office, killing those poor rabbits for Hino and Ginga's feast, feeling Hino's breasts as she hugged him in the nurse's office…

No, I'm dating Motoko… the hormone ridden teen thought as he recalled the image of Hibiki and Mikiri's bare breasts eased his mind back where it should be as he drifted off to sleep.

*****

"I'm glad you're here," the raven haired martial artist stated as he eyed his rival.

"Curse you Ranma!" Ryoga huffed as he looked up at the pigtailed boy. "I swear, I will defeat you…. One of these days…."

"Yeah yeah," Ranma replied as he stood up. Entering his dojo he grabbed a small cooler before returning to his still motionless rival. Setting down the cooler he offered his hand to Ryoga. Helping the other boy into a sitting position he eyed the damaged grounds around his dojo. At least I have a few days to repair the damage.

"You know," he said as he casually handed the canned green tea to his rival. "I'm glad that you're my rival."

Cracking open his drink Ryoga eyed him.

"If I didn't have you around I wouldn't push myself to be better all the time," the pigtailed boy stated. "You help to make me a better martial artist."

Ryoga growled. Clearly he didn't like hearing that he helped make his rival better.

"You're my greatest rival," Ranma stated, "but you're also the closest thing I have to a best friend."

The fanged boy blinked. He hadn't expected that.

"And, as your best friend, I'm going to do the only thing that I can to help you," the pigtailed boy said as opened his own can of green tea. "I'm breaking off my engagement with Akane."

Ryoga was glad that he hadn't drank the cool beverage; if he had he'd probably have spit it out all over his rival. "I don't need your pity!" he shouted.

Taking a mouthful of the cool drink, Ranma shook his head. "It's not because I pity you, it's because I realize now that Akane likes you more then she likes me. And I know that you really like her. So I won't stand in your way."

"But… but…"

"I know the old men want to join the two schools, but that doesn't mean that we have to do it this generation," Ranma sighed as he leaned back. Taking another swig of his drink he swallowed the rest of it.

"This isn't beer, is it?" Ryoga asked as he eyed the canned drink.

"Nope," Ranma replied as he flashed his can's label, "just green tea."

*****

A/N

Yeah, it's been a month or so since my last update. Having typed the last few pages in the last few days I realize just how much harder it is to do this and manage all my fantasy football teams at the same time… Sigh…

I'll still try to update at least once a month.

Oh, and there's a poll on my profile. More about another fic I've got up, but input from those handful of people who read my fics is always good.

Later.

Dreamingfox


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Notes –

Still undecided about Ryoga being a regular character in this fic, then again I've thought of that in each of my other Ranma crossover fics and he's become a steady character in two of them and made appearances in four. Hmmm…. I'll reserve judgment on him.

*****

Despite the chilly winter weather Ranma couldn't help but feel a bit hot under the collar. Though he'd expected that being in this situation, the young martial artist had never expected it to be this… intense. Wearing his usual red silk shirt and loose black pants, the raven haired boy knelt before both of his parents, Mr. Tendo, and Happosai. It didn't help that Ryoga was seated off to the side and that all three of the Tendo daughters were sitting along the same wall as Ryoga.

"So, would you mind telling me why you've chosen to abandon your honor by choosing not to marry Akane?" his mother asked.

Eyeing the family honor blade in her hands Ranma gulped as he considered his response.

"Tell her that you're not abandoning your honor," a voice in his ear advised, "only delaying the unification of the dojos another generation so that both dojos can be formally established."

Clearing his throat, Ranma straightened his back, "I'm not abandoning my honor; delaying the unification of the family dojos another generation should provide both our families enough time to actually establish our respective dojos."

"Repeat after me," Kannami instructed, "If my honor is dependent upon me fulfilling all the marriage contracts that father arranged for me, I would have to marry thirty nine women, Akane and Ukyo not included."

_Thirty nine, really?_ Ranma thought as he considered his ally's words. "If my honor is dependent upon me fulfilling all of the marriage contracts that pops sold me off for, then I'd have to marry thirty nine other women, and that's not including Akane and Ukyo."

Genma Saotome blanched at the number. _Only sixteen have come to collect, and all sixteen of those broke it off eventually. How'd he find out about the other thirty nine?_

"If I were to try and honor all of those other contracts," Ranma added, "I would be arrested for polygamy."

Happosai nodded. Though the ancient grandmaster and founder of the Anything Goes Martial Arts had broken more than a few laws in the past, even he understood the importance of a proper master needing to appear proper and respectful. It also helped that an as yet unnamed individual had promised to erase his lengthy criminal record and promised him the lingerie of one Ayumi Hamasaki. Even his legendary skills had failed to procure the silky treasures of the "Empress of Pop".

"Ranma my boy," Happosai said as he stood up, "you're right."

Soun and Genma both face-faulted at the proclamation.

"But master, the schools must be joined!" Soun protested.

"And they will," Happosai agreed, "just not this generation. I like that Ranma is thinking ahead. He's already shown initiative to try and open up the Saotome Dojo. That's much more then you've tried to do Genma."

Glaring at the panda wearing a gi and glasses, the shriveled old man shook his head. "And you Soun, you've yet to have a student show up at all."

"But, I teach Akane…"

"You teach her the basics," Happosai said, cutting off further protests from the Tendo patriarch. "She doesn't know any of your advanced techniques at all."

Akane blinked. _Father hasn't taught me anything but the basics?!_

The sudden feel of bloodlust and rage filled the dojo. Nabiki and Ryoga quickly backed away from the glowing Akane while the ever pleasant Kasumi simply sat amid the chaos contently as though nothing were wrong.

"If you're unwilling to teach your daughter the Tendo style of Anything Goes Martial Arts, I suggest you find a suitable student," the old letch suggested. "From what I've seen Ryoga Hibiki would be an exceptional student. I'm sure that if he were to receive regular training from the Master of Tendo school of Anything Goes he could even beat Ranma regularly."

Ryoga blinked. _All I needed was a good master? That makes sense – Ranma's always had his old man and the others teaching him techniques while I've had to travel alone. It's only through chance that I found anyone willing to teach me something_.

"Sounds like everything is working out," Kannami's voice filled Ranma's left ear. "You should be able to handle things from here on out."

"Okay," the raven haired boy replied, completely forgetting that he'd spoken aloud.

"I see that Ranma is fine with that idea," Happosai stated, covering up for the pigtailed martial artist's outburst.

Slightly embarrassed, Ranma scratched his head. Fortunately no one had picked up on his little slip up.

*****

The chill winter wind stung what little skin that wasn't covered by her thick coat and long stockings. Having spent so much time on a tropical island in the south Pacific, the redheaded girl was only now slowly getting used to the harsh Japanese winters. True, it wasn't as bad as climates further north like Russia's frozen tundra or the Arctic Circle, but it was a big difference from what she'd gotten used to.

Slipping into the small dojo she smiled as she felt the warmth radiating from the small heater. Pulling her mittens off she looked at her calloused fingers and hands.

'They're fine… no signs of fracture or dislocation. Next time, use your palm or a backhand; it puts less stress on the knuckles… I'm going to stretch them out.' Motoko, no, Fujiko, had said those words not too long ago, right after her fight with Ginga in fact.

Recalling the brief 'test' that the other girl had given her she shuddered. _There are other people out there that can beat me_.

The feel of the hot, wet, coarse tongue against her cold hands brought her back from her thoughts as the cute black lab licked her exposed flesh. Patting the dog she smiled warmly as she played with it.

Content to finally have someone to interact with, the still unnamed dog barked happily at the red haired girl.

*****

As much as his father had tried to protest his decision, Ranma knew that his father wouldn't go against Happosai. With the first part over the pigtailed boy steeled himself for what was to come next.

"So I guess you're going to marry Shampoo then," Akane said. Head bowed the usually violent girl appeared much more subdued than normal.

"It's not like that 'Kane," the pigtailed boy replied. "You're either hitting me or I'm taunting you and face it, neither of us is happy with that. I like you, but for me it's the same with Ukyo and to a lesser degree Shampoo; I like you all, and I wouldn't mind being friends with you, but I don't know that I would want our relationship to go beyond just being friends."

Even though he'd rehearsed what he was going to say, Ranma couldn't help but feel a bit, well, weak for having to resort to rehearsing. He should have just said it without needing to rehearse or even to think about it – but he knew he wouldn't, no, couldn't say it unless he'd solidified his resolve before hand while practicing what he had finally said.

All the practice couldn't prepare him for the sight of Akane's tears as they hit the floor.

"Sorry Akane," Ranma said as slowly walked out of the Tendo dojo, "we just wouldn't be happy together."

*****

Ranma felt cold. It wasn't the cool, winter weather that had made him feel cold, it was the fact that he'd walked away from a crying Akane. And there was the fact that he was the one that had made her cry.

"Saotome!" a familiar voice shouted at the pigtailed martial artist.

His instincts saved him as his distracted mind failed to register the threat. Muscles moved automatically to parry Kuno's attack at the wrist, keeping the dangerous older boy's bokken from becoming truly effective.

"No more running Saotome!" Kuno shouted as he tried to push off so that he could bring his bokken back into play. "Though you may have given up on Akane Tendo you still possess the sweet pigtailed girl! I will not allow you to have her!"

"Leave me alone!" Ranma shouted as his fist balled up. A powerful uppercut connected with the taller boy's stomach, knocking the wind out of the long-winded Kuno.

Before he could capitalize and finish Kuno a barrage of knives and thrown weapons rained down on them. Spinning behind the kendoka Ranma ripped the older boy's shirt off, whipping it at the sharp, pointy weapons and knocking enough of them out of the air while dodging the rest.

"Saotome!" the hidden weapons master shouted as he descended onto the fight. "I heard you'd given up on your other fiancées so that you could pursue my beloved Shampoo! I will never allow that to happen!"

A rain of weighed chains and maces flew at Ranma and Kuno as Mousse launched another wave of attacks. Ripping Kuno's bokken out of the older boy's hands the smaller boy pushed Kuno into the sea of metal. With a flick of the wrist Ranma threw the bokken at his nearsighted opponent forcing Mousse to disengage with his multitude of chains or take the hit.

Instinctively Mousse broke off his attack, dropping the sea of chains and the entangled Kuno. Pulling out a glaive he took a powerful swipe at Ranma, clearly intent on disemboweling his long-time nemesis and rival.

Forced onto the defensive, Ranma felt his blood beginning to flow as he got into the rhythm of the fight. Dodge, dodge, parry, dodge, flip, dodge, dodge.

Though encumbered by the chains (and Ranma's lucky punch) Kuno freed himself of the weights. Wrapping his hands around his bokken he charged into the fray.

Dodging Kuno's high pressure air attacks and Mousse's spray and pray barrage of blades (spears just didn't last long when mixed up with Kuno's slicing attacks), Ranma sighed. Yes, his blood was pumping, but he just couldn't get excited about the fight.

_Diagonal slash, barrage of kunai, high horizontal slash, diagonal slash, spear thrust, bokken thrust,_ Ranma thought as he effortlessly dodged his opponents' combined attacks. Even though it had been weeks, perhaps even months since he'd fought either of them the pigtailed martial artist knew his rivals' attacks after months, no, years of fighting them.

Snatching several kunai out of the air Ranma used them to block more of Mousse's barrage and even managed to redirect some towards Kuno. Even the added twist/handicap of trying to send Mousse's attacks at Kuno didn't excite Ranma.

Slipping past Kuno's guard Ranma grabbed the larger boy's wrist as he twisted. Converting the force and momentum in their attacks and redirecting them to suit his needs, Ranma flipped Kuno and sent him flying once again towards Mousse. Taking advantage of Mousse's lack of proper vision Ranma followed after his decoy as the taller boy crashed through the long haired boy's latest barrage. Slamming into the pair he twisted again, landing hard on top of the two as the trio hit the wall and then crashed through it. A handful of hair in each hand told him he that he had what he needed as he landed on his feet. Still jumbled and disoriented from their flight, neither Mousse nor Kuno were able to defend themselves as Ranma forced them to collaborate as he slammed their heads together.

Feeling his two rivals' bodies going limp, Ranma dropped them, allowing them to sleep off the pounding headaches that they were sure to have.

"You look bored," Happosai stated as he leapt through the hole in the wall.

Shrugging his shoulders Ranma sighed, "Fighting them isn't a challenge anymore. As much as I hated the random fights, they were always exciting; but now, now… I don't know…."

The diminutive grandmaster nodded. "That's because you've reached that stage in your life where these challenges aren't enough for you. You're ready for the next challenge."

Curious but skeptical, Ranma considered what the founder of his style had to say.

"You've started a dojo," Happosai explained. "The challenge now is to find someone to teach.

"Eventually you'll find someone to pass your lessons onto, and maybe you'll even challenge yourself to find someone unworthy of your lessons and try to mold them into someone who could be something."

Tilting his head Ranma eyed the tiny old man. "Here," Happosai said as he tossed a scroll at Ranma.

"What's this?"

"It's my stamp of approval," the tiny man shouted as he leapt onto the top of the wall. "I recognize you as a master of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

An odd tingle ran through his hands and arms, then through his entire body as he slowly opened the scroll. A stupid smile could be seen on his face as he looked at his most recent accomplishment.

*****

"I can't believe that Ginga's actually a distant cousin of mine," Kosukegawa stated excitedly as he walked down the crowded street. "To think that my grandfather survived on some tropic island and had children… all this time we thought he died."

"That is amazing," Hino replied.

"Yeah," the undersized boy nodded. "Mom's very insistent that Ginga stay with us now. She's even making Ginga take the entrance exam. If everything works out she might be going to school with us come March."

"Hey, is that Saotome-san up ahead?" the redhead asked as she spotted the raven haired martial artist's distinct figure.

"I… I think it is," Kosukegawa said. "Ranma!"

The long, cold trip from Nerima had cleared his previously muddled mind. Grasping the scroll that Happosai had provided him Ranma was lost in his thoughts as he pondered where he was going to go. Hearing his name being called out he instinctively turned. Suddenly, everything clicked.

"Hino, Kosukegawa," he shouted back with a wave. A sudden movement caught his keen eyes, _What's Motoko doing over there? Ah_. Smiling, Ranma waited for the pair and their tail to walk over to him.

"I thought you were going home to visit your family?" the redhead asked.

"Yeah, I did," he said as he straightened his back and stood tall.

"Did you resolve your, um, family issues?" the smaller boy asked.

"Yeah," Ranma smiled unevenly. "I did. Hey, you two wanna go get something to eat? It'll be my treat."

Hino and Kosukegawa exchanged a glance before turning back to Ranma.

"Sure," the smaller boy said.

"I just need to stop at the dojo first," the pigtailed boy said with a smile. "So, what are you two up to?"

"Oh, we're just talking about Ginga," Hino replied. "I was over at Kosukegawa's the other day because I wanted Ginga to stay with me. But it turns out that Ginga's related to Kosukegawa."

Ranma paused then glanced at the pair.

"Turns out that my grandfather that everyone thought had died in the war was stranded on an island," Kosukegawa said excitedly. "The tip of her spear is actually the blade my grandfather had on his bayonet and has my family name on it."

Ranma listened as the two explained things to him the long series of events that had happened over the first few days of the winter break. The distant street lights barely shone in the dark, fenced in lot, one of the primary reasons why the thugs had chosen to loiter in it in the first place. But with the new lamps and the beating that he, Hibiki, and Ginga had given the gang, Ranma was sure that the punks weren't likely to come back any time soon.

Unlocking the fence, he led the pair onto the property.

"You're not going to lock it?" Kosukegawa asked as the group moved towards the small dojo.

"We're about to come out in a little bit anyways," Ranma rationalized.

"Oh, I already stopped by today to feed the dog," Hino said as she heard the dog barking.

Ranma nodded, leaving the door to the dojo unlocked. "Sorry," he said.

"Sorry, for what?" Kosukegawa asked. "Ooof!"

The rush of air exiting the smaller boy's lungs as Ranma's lightning quick knee forced Kosukegawa to double over.

"Wh-what are you doing?" an astonished Hino asked as she moved to grab the stunned boy.

"Sorry to drag you into this Hino," Ranma said as he deftly lifted the gasping boy over his shoulder. "Why don't you tell Motoko to come inside; I'll be waiting."

Startled, the redhead's eyes quickly looked out the window. Catching sight of Motoko's silhouette she rushed to the door. "Motoko," she shouted, "he's got Kosukegawa."

_Let me take over_, Hibiki suggested.

The perceptive Hino noted the slight change in the other girl as Hibiki took over.

"Let's go," Hibiki said as she rushed into the dojo.

*****

"Sorry about that," Ranma said as he propped the smaller boy up against one of the practice dummies.

"Wh-why?" the still winded boy managed to ask.

"Ranma!" Hibiki shouted as she entered the dojo.

"So, it's Hibiki first," the pigtailed boy said as he removed his winter coat. "Take your time; I'd hate to ruin your coat."

"You're pretty sure of yourself," Hibiki grinned.

"If you want to help her you can," Ranma stated as he glanced at Hino.

Whipping off her coat the reckless girl hoped to momentarily blind the raven haired boy as she charged in. Cocksure of herself, she was surprised when her long winter coat suddenly stopped its flight. Several quick but powerful punches stopped her, sending her flying.

Snatching the coat Ranma hung it on another practice dummy.

"You can't beat me," Ranma said. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

Flipping back onto her feet Hibiki grunted.

_He knows_, Fujiko said mentally. _He's baiting us_.

_I don't care_, Hibiki declared.

_Don't be reckless_, Motoko advised.

"I'll try and make this as painless as possible," Ranma stated as Hibiki rushed in again. Blocking her straight forward punch he countered with a knee to her solar plexus and then a stiff chop to the base of her skull.

_Damn, he's fast_, Fujiko exclaimed.

_My turn next!_ Mikiri shouted playfully.

_Don't take him lightly_, the stern Fujiko cautioned, _he did beat Hibiki very quickly_.

Ranma and Hino watched as Motoko's body underwent a noticeable change. Muscles shifted ever so slightly as another facet emerged (along with two impressive breasts that strained against the tight sweater).

"Which one are you?" Ranma asked as he looked over his opponent.

"I'm Mikiri," the bubbly and energetic girl declared as she stalked Ranma. "Hibiki really was excited to fight you…"

"She lasted longer than I expected," the pigtailed boy said as he stood his ground.

Taking her time, Mikiri looked for an opening, any opening, as she cautiously moved closer.

Unimpressed and undaunted, Ranma allowed her to move in close.

_Force him to react_, Fujiko advised. _He's a defensive fighter like you so he won't make the first move_.

Taking the faster, more strategic persona's advice, the playful Mikiri threw a feint, taking the initiative and hoping to make her opponent react.

Unflinching Ranma held his ground as Mikiri's hand flew well short of his face, just as he had expected and as his opponent had planned. Only after the grappler was out of position did the newest master of Anything Goes Martial Arts react as he caught hold of his opponent's wrist. A firm twist forced her to spin around, allowing him to capture her back. Releasing her wrist he patted her firm buttocks as he pushed off of her, sending her out of range so that she couldn't counter attack.

Regaining her balance Mikiri quickly spun back around. Charging in for a tackle she half expected the boy to leap to one side or the other, maybe even right over her even, but for Ranma to slide under her charge had been a complete surprise.

Sweeping her feet out from under her he grabbed hold of her outstretched hands as he pivoted. Flipping her over his shoulder and onto the ground he drove the air out of her lungs. Taking a step back he waited for her to regain her feet only to have her fall back down as her legs gave out under her.

"Wow," Ranma replied, honestly surprised. "That actually worked!"

"What did you do to her?" Hino asked as she moved to help Motoko/Mikiri.

"Pressure points," Ranma said with a smile. The smile quickly faded though, "Damn, I guess I used it too soon. I really wanted to see how good Fujiko and Zero were…"

Feeling a change in his opponent's battle aura the pigtailed boy looked at the third and presumably the fastest of the personas. "How did you find out about us?"

Ranma shrugged. "You'll have to beat me to find out. But that seems unlikely today." Pulling out his cell phone Ranma looked over his call list. "So, what do you guys want for dinner?"

Kosukegawa would have fallen over if he hadn't already been leaning on a practice dummy, "What?!

"Well, I did promise to treat you to dinner," the pigtailed boy replied. "There's this great noodle cart that loves coming around since we cleared out those punks – I'm sure he'd come by if I gave him a call."

Spinning around he lashed out with a roundhouse kick that stopped Fujiko in her tracks. "Wow, you're up faster than I expected," he added as she viewed his defenses. "I guess it's because your muscles moved when you took over… I'll have to keep that in mind next time."

"You don't know what you're doing," Fujiko cautioned.

"Yeah, that's why I just beat two of you so quickly and easily," the pigtailed boy taunted.

Baffled by Ranma's odd behavior Hino watched as the normally easy going boy taunted Motoko/Fujiko as he somehow managed to evade her attacks.

"Hino, why don't you pick out somewhere to order dinner from," the confident boy said as he tossed her his phone. A wide middle kick forced the charging girl back, giving him enough room to reach into his jacket. Pulling out an envelope, he stood beside his intended victim. "I gotta warn ya, he might die of blood loss."

Grabbing the first photo, Ranma flashed it to Kosukegawa. "Remember the school festival?" he asked the trio. "I heard that a bunch of guys chased after Motoko after she delivered the café's delivery to our film. Someone happened to get this… promising picture of her as she jumped the stairs."

If he hadn't been winded Kosukegawa would have fallen backwards as he stared a zoomed in panty shot of his crush. "Beige!"

"Kosukegawa!" Fujiko shouted.

"And then there was this incident where Motoko, or was it Hibiki, was running down the street in nothing but her bra!" Ranma proclaimed as he pulled out another picture.

Rushing in Fujiko attacked not Ranma, but the pictures in his hand. _How the hell did he get those?!_

Dropping the pictures Ranma deftly grabbed Fujiko's ankle. With a skillful twist he spun her around. Lightning quick blows rained down on the defenseless girl.

"That was kinda cheap," the pigtailed boy stated as he apologized to Kosukegawa. Pulling out his cell phone he flipped it open. "So, noodles?"

Kosukegawa and Hino watched, clearly unsure what their schoolmate was up to. Absently they watched and listened as Ranma called, requesting that the noodle cart owner stop by his dojo for a quick delivery.

Flipping the phone close, Ranma stood straight, turning to face the last and hidden persona. "You must be Zero," he said handing his phone to Kosukegawa. "Could you hold onto this for me?"

Noting the change in the girl's stance and build, Ranma parried her palm strike. _Wow, she's faster than Fujiko_, he thought as she grabbed hold of his wrist, _and pretty strong too_.

Overpowering her, he flipped his arm around, completing the defensive move and forcing her off balance as he pulled her ever closer to himself. Rolling onto his back he kicked up, flipping her into the air and out of her attack range.

Twisting her body in mid-air she curled into a ball as she was propelled into the air. Kicking off of the low ceiling she shot back down at him.

Unfazed by the sudden turn of events he completed the roll as he landed in a crouch before rolling to the side to avoid Zero/Motoko's spinning axe kick. Pushing off of the ground he narrowly avoided her follow up sweep.

This must be what she wanted me to protect Kosukegawa from, Hino thought as she watched the amazing display before her. Regardless of what this 'Zero' did, Ranma was always a step ahead and just a fraction of a second faster. After a few minutes it was clear that Ranma was holding back though he appeared to be too casual as he avoided his opponent's strikes.

Dodging a jumping kick Ranma countered with a knee the doubled Zero over. Wrapping his arm around her slender neck he locked in a guillotine choke as he fell back onto the ground. Snaking his legs around her waist he clinched in the hold. Though Zero struggled, even she couldn't escape. Each punch to Ranma's ribs and kidney failed to free her of the hold - instead it robbed her of valuable air and energy as her limited supply was cut off by the expertly applied hold.

Feeling her go limp, he refused to let go until he was certain that she wouldn't be getting back up. Popping to his feet Ranma smiled. "Just in time," he stated.

More stunned by Zero's defeat then by the long forgotten punch, Kosukegawa gasped for air. "H-how…"

"Ranma's the best martial artist of our generation," a familiar voice stated. Slowly Kannami emerged from the shadows of the entry way. "And he's not even in his prime yet."

"Kannami," Kosukegawa exclaimed, "you're behind this!"

"No," Ranma cut in, "not exactly. Let me get the food and I'll explain once Motoko's up and about."

*****

A/N

Yes, a major change in direction for this fic. It's gone pretty close to the Change 123 manga, which isn't bad, but what's the point in having Ranma round if he's bored of the fights? Yes, a new challenge. No, Ranma isn't going to be in every fight, but he's going to be challenging himself and everyone else now as he undertakes a new direction in his life.

Expect a lot of changes from here on out (if you're following Change 123 that is).

Dreamingfox


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Notes –

No more disclaimers – I posted them on the first few chapters or so of the fic. I hope you're not that ignorant of ownership issues with this fic if you've been reading it this long.

Expect at least one update per month with this fic. If you've followed my other fics you'll know that I'm currently pumping out a lot of chapters for that fic as well as that I've actually slowed down the updates as it is now NFL Season and Fantasy Football Season too. This weekend was rough – 2-3 for the weekend, possibly 1-4 depending on how the Chargers do.

*****

"You're all good fighters," Ranma stated. Glancing at Kosukegawa he shook his head, "Well, the girls are very good fighters. You've reached the peak of your physical skills, nearly, but even with all that I managed to beat you" he pointed to Motoko "and all your personalities easily. The reason's not very simple and the path I took is probably worse than the training that you endured – and you don't want to see my other personality… though I'll probably have to show you one of the other results of my training…"

Standing before his class, no, school mates, Ranma shrugged as he tried to explain why he'd done what he'd done. The fight had been just as he'd expected, which was to say that it was anti-climatic and actually pretty dull. Well, he had leveled a mountain and was capable of creating tornados.

Grabbing a cup of ice-cold water he dumped it over his head, triggering the instant transformation to his cursed form. The gasps didn't surprise him, er, her; actually, they were expected. "While in China I fell into a cursed spring of drowned girl so now whenever I get splashed with cold water I turn into a girl," the busty redhead explained. Grabbing a cup of hot water she poured it over her head once again, "And hot water turns me back."

Seeing the astonished look on everyone's face, well everyone save Kannami, Ranma sighed. "Magic does really exist. But so does ki and all that funky stuff that most people brush off as unbelievable."

"Do aliens exist?" the blond deadpanned.

"Don't know," Ranma replied, "but yeti's did, don't know about Bigfoot, or the Lockness Monster though. I've met a few ghosts and other spirits.

"Anyways, I think the two of you," he looked at Motoko and Hino, "or however many you want to count yourself as, have the potential to learn some of the higher arts. It won't be easy, but it should help you in the long run."

"You said that you have a split personality too," Kannami said.

Thinking about how to best phrase it, Ranma nodded, "I have a horrible fear of cats. When I'm around them too long I kinda become a cat… I don't transform, it's just that I start behaving like a cat…"

"And this was a result of your training?" Hino asked skeptically.

"My old man found a manual for C-Cat fist," Ranma stated. "Basically he wrapped me in fish products and threw me into a pit of cats – repeatedly." A slight shiver ran through Ranma's spine. "I eventually became the one thing I fear the most – though only in personality."

"Why do you say only in personality?" Motoko asked.

"Well, there's a cursed spring of drowned cat," the pigtailed martial artist answered. "She tends to turn into a cat whenever she's mad at me…

"There's also spring of drowned black piglet, spring of drowned duck, spring of drowned panda, spring of drowned monk, spring of drowned yeti holding a crane and eel while riding an oxen, and spring of drowned man. Oh, and spring of drowned octopus. Though there are hundreds, maybe thousands of springs, those are the only ones that I know the people who fell into the spring."

"So why are you doing this?" Kannami asked.

"Well, when you brought me here you wanted me to help Kosukegawa become stronger so that he could protect himself if need be. Despite the fact that he's around all these fighters he's never been interested in learning the art. I don't blame him – if people have weird effects like even Motoko's than yeah, the art is scary for a wimp like him. Hell, even I regret and hate my side-effects, but I'm strong enough to live and deal with it.

"But then I saw Hino's fight with Ginga and realized something – I could beat any of the fighters around him without really trying. Look how easily I beat Zero and all of the others inside of you," he looked at Motoko. "I think that even though they are a result of the art, I can use the art to help you understand them and possibly unite you. Well, either the art or magic…."

"Magic?" Motoko mumbled.

"Yeah, there's this magical incense that can separate your other personalities," the ever tactless Ranma replied. "Technically it'll let one of your dormant personalities take control of you while you sleep, but then there's the spring of drowned twin…"

"What's that do?" Kosukegawa asked.

"Well, it creates a twin for you," the pigtailed martial artist explained. "Though I've only seen it on a small scale, not a full person.

"Anyways, now that I'm actually a master of my family's school I'm going to be training you, and anyone else who wants to learn as well," Ranma stated as he turned to Motoko.

"And what if she refuses?" Kosukegawa asked as he put his arm before his girlfriend as though he could protect her.

"Would you really refuse a chance to cure your condition?" Ranma asked as he looked at the delicate Motoko.

"N-no," she replied as she looked up at the pigtailed boy.

"Good," Ranma replied with a smile. "We'll start next week. That should give me enough time to draw up a training schedule for each of you, and one for you as well."

"You're going to train each of them?" Kannami asked skeptically.

"Yup," the confident martial artist replied. "Hopefully I can work with them individually to fuse with Zero and eventually with each other. I'll handle the physical end and you can handle the psychological stuff, right?"

The blond nodded. Clearly this Ranma wasn't the same one he'd met and hired just a few months ago.

*****

The harsh biting winter wind cut through her thick winter coat, reminding her of her native homeland. "All that's missing is snow," the woman stated as she walked unimpeded through the fairly vacant streets.

Despite the fact that most if not all of the schools were out for the winter holidays the streets around that particular section of town that she was currently was barely inhabited. Though there were a handful of shops and offices around they were drowned out by the colorful graffiti that marked virtually every building. Clearly there had been a gang of considerable size inhabiting the area, terrorizing the local business owners and driving down the value of the area.

The tall foreign woman though was not afraid. Beneath her winter coat was the body of a seasoned and experienced fighter. She could handle herself if need be. The fact that she wasn't alone and was accompanied by her most recent sensei also made her feel reassured in her safety as she was sure that between the two of them they could handle at least two dozen punks together.

Upon closer inspection though it was clear that much of the graffiti on the other end of the street was being cleared off as few of those buildings had been 'tagged' though there were clear signs that the paint had either been cleaned off or painted over. Being winter it surprised her to see a young girl washing down one of the buildings.

The closer she came to the young girl and the building in question the more she wondered just why the redhead was cleaning the building. The large boards covering the windows and the equally glaring for sale sign were proof that the building was vacant, and yet the young woman was working diligently to remove the graffiti. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that there was an officer nearby. Was she perhaps sentenced to some sort of community service?

Watching as the officer offered the young girl a cup of some hot beverage Anna shook her head.

"You're doing a wonderful job Ranko," the officer stated as he looked at the now clean wall. "You should take the rest of the day off though, it's rather cold outside and I'm sure a young lady like yourself has other things to do."

_That was odd. Were Japanese officers always this nice to young hooligans?_ Glancing at her companion the woman shrugged.

"I gave my students the rest of the holiday break off," the redhead stated between careful sips of the hot beverage. "So I've got nothing else to do."

She was a teacher?

"Ever since you opened your dojo this neighborhood has become a much safer place," the officer said with a smile. "Even Mr. Takahashi down the block has noticed. He says that business is up since you drove out that gang. Everyone thought that they'd come back but after two months of relative quiet this area is drawing more interest. You don't have to paint over or clean off these vacant buildings."

"I know," the redhead said as she returned his smile. "But I get some nice hot chocolate out of it."

Both the officer and the redhead chuckled.

"Besides, it's a martial artist's duty to help his, or her, neighborhood. Since there's no one here to take care of the buildings I'll have to clean them up, I can't really leave such an eye sore around my dojo; it'd give me a bad name."

Glancing at her companion Anna wondered if she'd heard things correctly. _This was Motoko's new sensei?_

"Excuse me," the large yet gentle man beside her said as they approached the officer and the young lady. "You're the owner of the new dojo down the street?"

The woman watched as both the redhead and the officer glanced at them, appraising them both – though each apparently picking up on different aspects of the pair.

The redhead suddenly squared up with them before offering a slight yet polite bow. "You must be Motoko's father," she said.

Though Japanese was not her native tongue, Anna knew enough to know that the girl was being fairly informal. First the girl had referred to her student by her given name, not her family name – something that signified either familiarity or intimacy, or a disregard for the student. To further that point she had failed to address Motoko with either –san, -kun, or some other honorific.

Startled by the display, Anna and her companion simply stood there before nodding reflexively.

"Saotome-san," the officer admonished, "I know you've spent a lot of time abroad…"

"My apologies," the redhead said with another polite bow, "you must be Gettou-kun's father. I am Ranko Saotome, the owner of the dojo."

An awkward smile graced her companion's face. Clearly he was unused to such an odd introduction.

"Yes," he replied curtly. "I just wanted to meet my daughter's new instructor."

"Well, I'll leave you three to your business," the officer said with a warm smile. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off and enjoy yourself Ranko?"

The redhead shrugged. "I guess," she replied. "Have a good day Officer Tenma."

"You too," he returned.

"Oh, don't forget to look after the place while I'm gone," Ranko added.

"I won't," he said, "I wouldn't want this place to get as bad as it used to before you got here. Have fun in China. Don't worry about the cleaning supplies; I'll take care of it. You go on and handle your business."

"Hong Kong," the redhead corrected. "I will."

Turning, she directed them towards the isolated building on the end of the block.

"I've heard so little about you," Ranko said once Officer Tenma was out of earshot. "The God of Submission, huh."

Anna blinked as her companion paused. Few called the good-natured man beside her that. Only a select few knew of that 'title', even fewer associated that name with him. Clearly Motoko or Mikiri had told either Ranma or Ranko of the first of her fathers.

"If she's told you that much about me then I really am intrigued," the mustached man replied. "Is your brother truly as good as he claims to be?"

"He is," the redhead replied, "and I'm every bit as good as he is. You doubt that he beat Mikiri, Fujiko, Hibiki, and Zero?"

Anna paused. This she hadn't heard. Though she knew that Motoko had come home the past few days looking a bit battered and bruised, and fairly sore to boot, she had no idea how this young woman or her brother had managed to convince Motoko to undergo training. Usually deferring to one of her other personalities when it came to being physical, Motoko rarely ever involved herself with any strenuous activities.

And having seen the results of bringing Zero out… Could anyone honestly beat the emotionless juggernaut?

"So I've heard," Kurama replied finally. "Though the nature in which your brother beat Fujiko…"

"That's why my family's school is called 'Anything Goes'," Ranko smirked. "Sometimes you have to make your opponent attack you, and sometimes you use that to simply throw them off balance, and sometimes you just rush in and kick their ass. Anything can be turned into a weapon, anything can be used in an attack, and not all attacks are meant to do physical damage – sometimes you just have to unhinge your opponent."

Anna blinked. What had this Ranma done to ruffle the cool, collected Fujiko's feathers?

"Perhaps I'll have to use that trick on you Anna-chan," the older man smirked.

The perverted look in his eye made her wondered if she really wanted to know what Ranma had done to Fujiko.

"So, if you're as good as your brother, why is he the only instructor?" Anna asked, trying to move the topic away from anything perverse.

"He's the only one who the grandmaster granted the title of master to," Ranko explained with a shrug. "I own the building, but he's the resident master."

Entering the sizable enclosure, Anna eyed the facilities. The large open spaces provided enough room for sparring, but the odd assortment of pole – what good were they?

"The Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts tends to favor aerial specialists," Ranko explained as she closed the gate behind them. Taking a single bound she quickly launched herself into the air before gracefully landing on the nearest pole, perching herself expertly as though she were used to the tiny foothold. "So I take it you're here to see just how good we are, right?"

"Actually, no," Kuruma replied. "I have no reason to doubt that your brother did beat Mikiri, Hibiki, Fujiko and Zero. Though they are very skilled, I believe Kosukegawa. He is not the type to simply lie like that, and seeing Mikiri and Hibiki's bruised pride I know that they aren't happy with being beaten so handily. What interests me is how your brother beat Fujiko."

Ranko blinked. "What did Kosukegawa tell you about my brother's fight with Fujiko?"

"Only that he showed Kosukegawa compromising pictures of Motoko," Kuruma answered.

"Honestly, it's nothing that wasn't on Kosukegawa's phone, just larger pictures," the redhead replied as she scratched her head.

_How is she maintaining her balance on that thing?_ Anna thought as she watched the redhead lean back. _Wait, compromising pictures? Like naked pictures or something? On Kosukegawa's phone?_

"That attack only works when the target of the attack has something to be embarrassed about, and when there are others to help fuel the attack," Ranko explained as she hopped off of the pole.

"He does care for her," Ranko stated as she came to Kosukegawa's defense. "And Motoko and the others clearly care for him."

Kuruma nodded. "I know. I hope that your brother's a better teacher and instructor than I was."

A crooked smile graced Ranko's lips. "So do I," the redhead said uncertainly, "so do I."

*****

"You're sure about this?" the pigtailed martial artist asked his companion. Looking up at the Chinese writing on the screens overhead the experienced martial artist felt slightly out of sorts as he relied on his blond companion's experience and knowledge.

"Yes I am," Kannami said calmly.

Even though Hong Kong had officially become another part of China, Ranma knew that the "Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" was separate from the mainland, if only by a river (seriously he'd swam to China and back before, the tiny expanse of water separating China from Hong Kong was ridiculously small. An Amazon worth her salt could easily find her way into Hong Kong.) If not for the fact that it was for 'work' Ranma wouldn't have dared come this close to China, especially after having Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse deported back to China (with much help from Happosai and Kannami).

"Couldn't you have handled this yourself?" Ranma asked, clearly skeptical that his presence was required.

"Possibly," the blond replied, "but I don't know what the Jusenkyo guide's daughter looks like."

Ranma shrugged. In all honesty he really didn't recall what she looked like either. He'd been too busy fighting off the Phoenix clan's warriors to really think about the small girl he'd ended up saving. If not for the picture that he had of the girl he would have overlooked her.

"Are you sure that this stuff is going to work?" the blond asked as he looked over Ranma's rough proposal about how to deal with their current project. Despite Ranma's best efforts to lay out his plans on paper (which meant that he wasn't just drawing stick figures with names over them and arrows pointing to how the named figures were going to change for whatever reason) it was hard for the logical and intelligent young man to accept that magic existed. It just, well, defied logic. And clearly magic, as it pertained to Ranma, was not logical.

Some pools turned the victim into another version of themselves as if they had been born with that body, others contained the memories and spirit of the drowned person, suppressing even the victim's personality at times, and of course most pools just turned the person into an exact copy of the person/thing that had drowned there. Some were age or gender specific, and others weren't.

And then there was the fact that the pools/springs could be mixed, giving the victim the features of each of the drowned… individual creatures – yeti riding an oxen, while carrying a crane and eel? That sounded like something out of an anime. Hell, even Kosukegawa's Rider wasn't that insane, and that was a work of fiction. But this magic… it was reality.

Shaking his head Kannami sighed as he stole a sideways glance at the pigtailed boy beside him. Had he not seen the pigtailed boy turn into a pigtailed redhead, and the many displays of physical strength that supported the martial artist's claim that ki/chi existed, the blond would have thought that their jaunt to Hong Kong were little more than a fool's errand. Actually, there was a part of his mind that still thought it was a fool's errand.

Maintaining his calm, cool demeanor the blond lead the raven haired martial artists to the terminal. "We better hurry," the blond stated. "It looks like our plane is departing right on time."

"Is it that bad?"

"It's not unusual for planes to depart right on time, just odd," the blond explained.

"But given our brief visit here and the fact that the Chinese government doesn't acknowledge that the Musk or the Phoenix tribes exist, much less the Amazons, but it's clear that they know of them and that each has some political ties. Though the Musk and Phoenix are willing to cover for you, it seems that the Amazons would know that you're here should both of them move to cover for you. Being the prideful people that they are neither one would relent to cover your presence here, so I had to leave them both in the dark. I just hope the Jusenkyo guide's daughter won't be missed otherwise we could have some trouble if the Amazons catch on."

Ranma nodded. Even though he hadn't understood anything other than the fact that the Musk and the Phoenix felt that they owed him one, and that they both appeared to have ties with the government. "So you're afraid that the Amazons might catch on to the fact that I came to Hong Kong?"

"Yes," the blond replied curtly as he pulled out his plane ticket.

"I never realized that they were tied so tightly with the government," Ranma whistled.

"They know what they're doing, that's for sure," Kannami replied.

"Guess that's why Cologne managed to avoid being deported all those years," the pigtailed boy muttered.

"And that's why I knew you were coming here," a voice called out, bringing both young men to a complete stop.

Glancing around, Kannami noted the absence of other travelers in the terminal. Clearly the ancient Amazon had expected them and had the place covered.

"You must be Elder Cologne," the blond said with a cool smile.

"And you must be the one who's pulling the strings behind my son-in-law," the crone shot back evenly. "But you must have realized that I wouldn't let the fact that someone had me and my great-grand-daughter deported slip by. And for Ranma to come to China like this, well, I had to come and see what brought him out here."

Ranma smiled nervously.

"I heard that you had all of your other engagements broken off," Cologne stated. "Now you have no other obligations keeping you from marrying my granddaughter."

"It seems the jig is up," Kannami stated. "I guess this is where I leave you Ranma."

"Fine," the pigtailed boy said calmly. "I'll catch up."

"You're very confident, aren't you son-in-law?" the ancient master said as she balanced herself on her cane.

For his part Ranma slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone, "Sorry, one second." Picking out a number he waited for the recipient to pick up. "Plan B," he said before hanging up.

"What's this 'Plan B'?" Cologne asked as she eyed the empty terminal.

Casually Ranma returned the cell phone to his pocket before turning to face Shampoo. Scroll in hand he quickly flipped it open. "Amazon law requires that Shampoo marry the one person who defeated her, right?"

"You already know the answer to that," Cologne replied.

"But you know that if I came to the village I'd mess things up, right?" he replied, eyeing his former teacher and nemesis. "The village wouldn't be able to deal with such a powerful rogue fighter, nor would they be happy that you've taught an outsider several Amazon techniques."

Grinning Cologne eyed the young martial artist. "Are you trying to black mail me?"

"No, just trying to reach a compromise," Ranma smiled back. "I'm sure you remember my Nekoken?"

Cologne nodded.

"I know that the village law just wants the Amazon that lost to marry the man who defeated her so that she can add his strong genes to the village, thus making her children stronger -Basically her husband is nothing more than a sperm donor, right?"

Squinting, Cologne eyed him. "She'd need to marry you."

"No, she'd need to marry a Ranma Saotome," Ranma corrected. Seeing the recipient of his call arrive Ranma relaxed, "And she will, just not me."

Following his gaze the older woman spotted what could easily be mistaken for a Ranma clone standing between a Musk warrior and a Phoenix warrior.

"That is also 'Ranma Saotome'," the pigtailed boy replied. "He is genetically my equal, and he even knows the Cat-fist, among other techniques."

"That won't do," Cologne stated as she finally connected the dots.

"Too bad," Ranma replied as edged over towards the wall where an umbrella rested against the wall. "Because that's the best that you'll get."

Two more pairs of warriors appeared, one from the long passage way leading to the plane and another from a nearby terminal behind the original Ranma.

Seeing the fluid grace that the warriors walked with Cologne knew that she would be hard pressed to defeat them all. Watching as Ranma pulled up an umbrella reminiscent of the eternal lost boy, she grinned. Clearly he'd picked up some new tricks. "Borrowing Ryoga's trick?" she asked as she prepared to launch herself at the young martial artist. "Afraid to get wet right before boarding your plane are you?"

The sudden alarms startled the ancient warrior, throwing her off as she prepared to attack the pigtailed boy. The sudden downpour of water had been a surprise, but that really didn't change things other than perhaps leave Ranma open as he clearly appeared to want to avoid getting wet.

Ranma shrugged as the water ran down the umbrella. Though he had received his cure, Ranma did not want to let Cologne know that.

Blinking as she felt the cool water from the sprinkler system soak everyone but Ranma Cologne fought to maintain her balance on the now wet cane.

It wasn't that she'd lost her balance because of the water, more that her center of gravity had changed…

Eyes bulging as she finally comprehended what had happened to her the ancient Amazon fell to the floor as her body transformed. She tried to look at her hands only to realize that she couldn't completely control her limbs.

"You should have accepted the offer," Ranma consoled as he looked at the cursed Amazon. "At least you're still human, and female to boot."

She tried to yell at him, but her body had failed to master the art of speech, resulting in a startled whining instead.

"That should give me enough time to get away from you," Ranma said as the musk warrior splashed more water onto the now infant Cologne.

"Very tragic story of baby girl," the pigtailed martial artist sighed, "drowned at birth by her parents when they realized that their baby was a girl and not the boy that they had wanted. But it doesn't matter, all that matters is that you'll be out of my hair for a while."

Another cry escaped Cologne's lips. When had Ranma become so… cunning? Yes, he had always been a quick learner and could easily deconstruct and reconstruct techniques, but to plan something like this… that was simply amazing. Clearly she had underestimated him.

With the steady downpour over Ranma walked away. Cologne was no longer his problem. Smiling, he closed the wet umbrella and set it down before entering the tarmac. Wiping his shoes dry on the carpet he made sure that none of the cursed water was present when he made it to the plane. It wouldn't do to curse others who didn't deserve it, and he really had offered her a way out. If not for her stubbornness, he wouldn't have had to resort to Plan C.

"I heard the alarms," Kannami stated as he settled into the small private jet.

"Plan C," Ranma replied. "Good thing we were able to arrange a flight out of a private terminal."

"You're sure that everything's going to work out?" the blond asked.

"No," Ranma answered honestly. "But I can always hope for the best."

*****

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes –

No more disclaimers – I posted them on the first ten chapters or so of the fic. I hope you're not that ignorant of ownership issues with this fic if you've been reading it this long.

I really hoped that the Packer's D-line would have buried the evil traitor several times last weekend, I'm just hoping that someone else will do that to him.

My computer's dead, officially. I'm borrowing the wife's but she's gotten hooked to Farmville and other online games so don't expect consistent updates until I get a new computer.

Yes, this Ranma is Sensei-Ranma, the rarely used Ranma. It's a very different Ranma than the typical portrayals in fanfiction, so expect plenty of surprises.

*****

For an experienced master like Happosai slipping into an estate full of skilled martial artists was easy. Hell, it was easier than slipping into Ayumi Hamasaki's place – that place was a fortress. Then again her security didn't just rely on only martial artists. Sighing, the ancient grandmaster and founder of Anything Goes Martial Arts wondered if the supposedly old fashioned mistress of the compound would ever bother with either adding elements of technology to her estate's defenses. As a grandmaster himself he knew the limitations that typical high level martial artists encountered, and none of the martial artists here were beyond typical.

In a matter of moments the ancient fighter found himself being carried into the mistress' chamber. Once the attendants were gone the tiny martial artist lifted the lid to the tray, announcing his presence to the woman even as she sat in the shadows. She was anything by your typical high level martial artist. True, she wasn't on par with Cologne, but she did have resources that far outstretched the ancient Chinese Amazon.

"It's been a long time my dear," the ancient said as he set the lid to the main entrée down behind him. "I must say, your current chef is much better than the one you had the last time I stopped by."

"This one's actually Japanese this time," the woman replied.

"I think I tasted some Central or South American influences," Happosai stated as he licked his teeth. "Avocado, mango, and something else – the old masters would never have dared to add something like that to their entrees."

Silently considering the ancient grandmaster the woman remained hidden in the shadows, confident that her unwelcome guest would not try to venture past the sheer curtain that stood between them.

"But I didn't come here just for the food," Happosai finally said as he removed the lid to one of the side dishes.

"So you finally named an heir?" the woman asked coolly.

"Yep," Happosai said cheerfully as he grabbed a piece of shrimp tempura that longer than his arm. Then again, considering his size that comparison really wasn't very impressive. "Funny thing is I think he took your granddaughter as a student Gettou-san."

Though she showed no physical signs of distress, it was clear to the tiny martial artist that the woman was clearly not happy with the news.

"Ooh, soft shelled crab!" Happosai exclaimed. "But I really must be going. Give your new chef my regards. Should I pass your regards to you grandson?"

In a flash, a literal flash, the tiny figure was gone, leaving no trace of his ever being there save for the fact that the food on the tray was now completely gone.

The woman scowled. This was unexpected. She knew that Nodoka had a son, but despite her best efforts her spies had not been able to discover anything of the boy. Given how common a name Saotome was it was hard for her spies to find any credible leads on either Genma or his son. It didn't help that the bastard had left the country with the child for over a decade.

And then there was Motoko. Even the matriarch of the Gettou family didn't know who Motoko's biological father was, though she had limited it to one of her three "fathers" even she wasn't sure anymore.

But to have her only living daughter go rogue and marry one of the perverted martial artists students and then to have her only granddaughter tainted by Happosai's teachings was a slap in the face to her entire family and everything that they had worked for. True, Nodoka had been completely useless as a martial artist, though she had at least maintained the culture and sophistication of someone of her station she lacked the physical skills that her younger sister had, thus making her completely useless. True, she balanced out her sister's lack of culture, but without the physical skills necessary to hold her own against the others in their organization Nodoka was essentially useless. No, she was even worse now as she had apparently provided Happosai with an heir to his upstart of a school.

She'd definitely have to send more agents to investigate the matter and possibly intervene. Perhaps she could even salvage something out of this sudden and unexpected turn of events.

*****

Few of the many people who claimed to know the pigtailed martial artist would ever claim that Ranma was smart - Smart-mouthed maybe, but not smart. Given his tendency to sleep through his classes and essentially ignore his education few ever had reason to think that there was anything but muscle inside of the young martial artist's head.

Yet despite the lack of any evidence to the contrary, Ranma was very bright and even intelligent. It wasn't just his perceptiveness and physical abilities that had allowed him to master many amazing techniques and skills, though they surely helped. Without a sharp mind that allowed him to accept the impossible (or allowed him to see things through a broader scope than others) the pigtailed martial artist wouldn't have excelled at martial arts or beaten all his various opponents. His seemingly unique ability to see an attack (technique, skill, or pattern) and deconstruct it, then reconstruct it to find a weakness always gave him an edge, so long as he could endure or avoid the initial assault or at least come back for a rematch.

For the first time in, well, his short life (when compared to someone like Happosai or Cologne it was very short) Ranma found himself engrossed in a pile of books and scrolls, each one describing the various aspects of martial arts and its benefits to the practitioner's mind, body, and soul/spirit. Having dedicated much (hell, all) of his life to the physical and mental aspects of martial arts, the young master and heir of Anything Goes Martial Arts slowly opened his eyes to the spiritual side of the very arts he'd seen, fought, and mastered. Kung Fu, Chinese Kempo, Tai Chi Chuan, Aikido, Jujutsu, yoga, and Jeet Kune Do all had some spiritual aspect to them that Ranma had long ignored.

"Morning," the now familiar voice of Teruharu "Hideo" Kosukegawa called out as the rather scrawny youth entered the dojo. Though he had started a job recently over the winter holiday the boyfriend of Ranma's primary student always stopped by the dojo even on the days that he wasn't scheduled to practice with the young master of the dojo.

"Good morning sensei," the ever formal and timid Motoko said as she offered Ranma a formal bow.

Absently nodding at his pupils, Ranma barely looked up from the book he was currently reading.

"You didn't spend all night reading that, did you?" Motoko asked as she slipped off her thick winter coat.

"Nope, different book," the smart-mouthed dojo master and instructor replied as he closed the book _The Tao of Jeet Kune Do_. "I was reading his biography last night, well, one of them.

"Now, did you go through the Tai Chi Chuan steps that I showed you?" he asked as he stood up and turned to his primary student and her boyfriend. Seeing Tenruharu's slightly bowed head and Motoko's timid nod told him all he needed to know.

"I needed to stretch anyways; why don't we start with that first," Ranma suggested.

"Should we wait for Hino-san?" Motoko asked.

Ranma shook his head. "She'll jump in when she gets here."

Though Ranma wasn't a big fan of "soft" styles like Tai Chi, the pigtailed martial artists knew that Tai Chi and to a lesser degree yoga would help both of his students with their flexibility as well as help them develop the coordination that they would need for to learn other, harder styles. Balance was something that both Motoko (and her many different personas) and Teruharu needed, and not just on the physical level. But he'd get to that later. Right now he needed to ingrain in his pupils the dedication they needed to master Tai Chi.

*****

The faint sunlight of winter barely warmed the girl's dark skin as she sat in the sunlight. Signs of the long, cold winter slowly giving way to the warmer and more cheerful spring teased her as she gazed out at the multitude of green buds on the trees, a sure sign that the trees were coming back to life. Though spring promised to be much warmer for the tall girl, she couldn't help but wonder how the new term and year were going to affect her.

Having been called back over the winter holidays Botan had been forced to give an inconclusive report. Though she suspected that Motoko Gettou was perhaps a skilled fighter, she had yet to acquire any proof to prove that matter. The tiny girl, Ginga, appeared to be an adequate red, and Hino-san was a decent brown (blue + yellow + a bit of red), but her target had made no sign of showing any of her abilities.

Sitting before the mistress, the tall girl refrained from shifting her weight as she sat. It'd been nearly an hour since she or the veiled mistress had spoken last. Having provided a written report to the mistress Botan simply waited as the mistress read over the report.

The sound of papers being set down slowly drew Botan out of her reverie as the mistress once again focused on the young martial artist.

"So you have failed to assess the extent of Motoko Gettou's abilities," the veiled woman stated.

"I have not had adequate time to properly assess them mistress," the tanned girl pleaded.

"No," the woman replied, "you haven't. Tell me, what of the fighters that you did see?"

Surprised by the sudden turn of events Botan blinked as she sought an answer. "Izuru Hino appears to be very capable."

"A green, perhaps even a brown," the woman stated. "And this girl, Ginga was it? She's a dark red."

Nodding, Botan scanned her memory for any other skilled fighters. "There is also a Ranma Saotome," she added. _How could I forget to add him to my report?_

"Saotome?"

"Yes, though I haven't seen him fight myself, I have seen some of his physical exploits," Botan exclaimed. "He ran a hundred meters in nearly world record time, did over five hundred pull ups in a few minutes, jumped well over the top of the volleyball net, and is said to have jumped out of a window on the third floor without injuring himself."

"You've seen him do all that?" the woman asked, clearly skeptical of Ranma's physical feats.

"I was on the opposing team in volleyball, and he was in my homeroom when he jumped out of the window," the tall martial artist explained.

"And why would he do that?"

"Um, well, he said he wanted to get lunch and that if he didn't hurry there wouldn't be any bread left." Her dark skin barely hid her embarrassment as she explained her classmate's extremely odd behavior. Who could explain half of what Ranma did?

The pair sat silently for several minutes as Botan waited for her mistress to speak.

"You will continue your mission," the mistress finally said, breaking the long silence. "You are to assess the capabilities of Motoko Gettou."

Botan nodded.

"I'll have Sora assess this Ranma Saotome."

Startled by her mistress' words, Botan failed to note the fact that her mistress seemed to be gritting her teeth at the mention of the pigtailed martial artist. "I'm sending Sumire as well. Do not interfere with her mission or Sora's. I'll instruct them to avoid interfering with your investigation as well."

Nodding, Botan bowed to the veiled woman before standing up and exiting the room.

Three different agents were being sent to Saotome High School, and the three of them clearly didn't like each other. Either this was a brilliant move or the mistress clearly knew something that she had not wanted to let her agent know.

*****

A gentle spring breeze caressed the dark skinned girl's cheek, sending a slight shiver down her spine as she was reminded of the colder temperatures of Japan's spring and winter. Having lived in the warm, south Pacific Ginga was not used to the chilly winters that Japan had, nor was she used to the thick coat and socks that were supposed to provide her with some protection from the invasive cold air.

Burying her face into her thick scarf she glowered at her companions. For weeks on end her cousin Teruharu had been waking up early every morning to practice some odd looking dance. True, he rarely moved his feet, but it looked much more like a dance than a form of fighting, at least to the small girl.

Watching as her cousin froze himself in the slowly greening yard, Ginga yawned even as she pulled her coat tighter to her tiny body.

Normally she didn't bother watching Teruharu's odd morning ritual. Had she known that the same person that was instructing her cousin was also instructing her friend and rival the tanned girl probably would have paid more attention to her cousin's training, but as it was she simply chose to laugh as her rather clumsy cousin fell over as he appeared to move his right leg up for a slow sweeping kick.

"You don't have to watch and laugh," the scrawny boy shouted as he pulled himself back to his feet. He'd definitely have work on that move if he didn't want his sensei to work him into the ground. Even with his new job he knew that he couldn't slack off on his lessons, especially since both Motoko (and Hibiki, Fujiko, and Mikiri) and Hino-san were all giving their best to absorb Ranma's teachings. As tempting as it was to simply run errands for Ranma in exchange for the lessons, he knew just how hard it was to work for Ranma as the master martial artist seemed to lack the proper articulation to express himself or his ideas clearly, even if it was just instructions in his lessons. Then again, maybe it was because everyone else was a fighter and martial artists, thus they understood the basics of what Ranma was trying to tell them. Either that or they understood better because they were girls and Ranma was a girl part of the time.

Startled by the sudden image of Ranko (as he'd become accustomed to calling that version of Ranma) the runty boy fell over once again.

"Hideo!" his mother shouted from the kitchen. "If you don't start getting ready now you're never going to make it to school on time!"

Sighing, he got up and hurried inside. This was going to be a long day.

With his mother's excitement at finally being able to walk a "daughter" to her first day of school, Teruharu Kosukegawa knew that he would have to skip his now usual stop at Ranma's dojo before heading to school. Given the nature of the day it wasn't a surprise that Ranma had let him off the hook, then again, it wasn't one of his training days.

But for Ginga things were different. Having spent the past few months getting appropriate clothes for the colder weather as well as taking the entrance exams for Saotome High School, the tiny fighter had only managed to spar occasionally with Hino and Hibiki at Ranko's dojo. Though she was over often she rarely ever saw Ranma actually teaching/instructing the others (or anyone really) and simply assumed that the others went there just to use the open spaces that Ranko's dojo provided.

Having never attended any formal schools, Ginga was slightly nervous at the prospect. The fact that cousin Hideo and Hino-san were at the same school helped ease her mind somewhat, but she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. The small populace of her native island was easily outnumbered by the many students that gathered at the school.

Seeing her cousin rushing ahead to meet up with his friends and classmates Ginga forced herself to slowly and deliberately walk past the gated entrance of the school. Still unaccustomed to the thick, baggy leggings and heavy winter coat the girl from a tropical island in the South Pacific hoped that she wouldn't suffer from some wardrobe malfunction. After all, she didn't want to make a bad impression on her new schoolmates.

"That loincloth kid is a girl?" Ozuma mumbled, slightly startled by the revelation.

"Did you see what she was wearing this morning?" the brown haired Katou interjected with a slight smirk. "She was decked out so thick she looked like the O from Gundam."

Ranma blinked. Having no idea what the hell Gundam was (he preferred Dragon Ball, but not Dragon Ball Z) he clearly didn't catch the reference.

"And she's got those supper loose socks on at this time of year," the spiky haired Saitou exclaimed, clearly amused at the way Ginga was dressed.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ranma looked down at his suit. Even he couldn't get away with wearing his usual red silk shirt and black pants on a day like today. All the teachers (and his peers as well) had essentially bribed him into wearing the school uniform (though the Chinese Buffet was worth it).

"Those are the legwarmers that Kosukegawa-kun's mother made for her!" Motoko squeaked in protest. "She can't help it, she was born on a tropical island and this is her first real winter."

Admonished by the cute girl, the other boys bowed their heads and looked at the cold, hard ground.

"Morning," Hino greeted as she and Ginga walked towards the small group.

"Morning," Saitou and Katou returned, just a half second before the others replied.

Leading the new second years away from the entrance to the school Ranma felt a strange sensation running through his body. In two years time he'd be done with High School, possibly forever (college really didn't appeal to him, but it was an option). In all his time in Nerima he never really made the effort to enjoy his high school life as he simply tried to get by and survive his martial arts life. Regardless of what he thought about school, this was quite possible only opportunity to enjoy school with his peers and friends. Maybe he could make an effort to enjoy himself just a bit more. Maybe.

*****

Slowly trailing after the others Kosukegawa and Motoko walked side by side, simply enjoying the fact that they were together. True, they were just walking together, but it was something. Idly listening to their classmates and friends ahead of them the two walked in silence as they tried to work up the courage to talk to each other.

"Um, you're going to be starting cram school soon, right?" Motoko managed to ask as the group reached the building.

"Yeah," Kosukegawa replied sheepishly. Though Ranma was essentially giving him lessons for free the runty upperclassman knew that Cram School would be expensive. Hopefully he only needed to go for one year and not more. But with his grades no one was willing to say that for sure. "I guess I'm going to be pretty busy soon, and with your lessons…." _Be a man_, he mentally scolded himself. "W-would you… how about we do something this afternoon? Is there somewhere you'd like to go?"

"What?" a clearly surprised Motoko exclaimed.

_My first goal is to call you Motoko-chan… because you're my woman!_ An image of his beautiful girlfriend filled his mind, even as he walked beside her. _And after that, I want to… hold your hand_.

"I'll let you decide Kosukegawa-kun," the timid girl replied as she looked at the ground before her.

_And then before summer break, maybe I could k-kiss her_… his eyes focused on her gentle lips. _Kiss… Well, why stop there? I might even be able to touch her!!! If we can get that far before summer than maybe over summer break… _Images of a naked Motoko covering her ample breasts and blushing filled his mind. "Where should we do it?"

Motoko paused. _What?! Did he just say where should we do it?_

_If you don't wanna then I can take over_, Hibiki teased.

_I think I just saw a terribly obscene aura_, Motoko thought as she ignored her more aggressive persona.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" Kosukegawa asked as he turned around.

Having failed to realize that she'd stopped walking, the busty girl fought to maintain control of her body.

"Did you think of somewhere you wanted to go?" the scrawny boy asked.

"A... somewhere with lots of people," she mumbled. _I wonder if this is a good idea_.

*****

The was a reason why Ginga hated large buildings – not only did they block out the feel of the elements, the insides looked the same. Turning her head to the left, then to the right, the small first year student strained her mind as she tried to recall just where her homeroom was. _I don't even know what floor I'm on, or where cousin Hideo's room is_. "Sensei!" she exclaimed spotting a somewhat familiar face.

"I ain't no teacher," the lean, tall youth scowled as he loosened his tie.

"But you stood at the head of our class at the ceremony," the clueless girl stated.

"My name's Aizawa, so I'm first on the attendance list," he grumbled as he climbed the stairs.

With nothing better to do, the tiny girl followed the taller boy as he went up to the roof.

Opening the door the lean, lanky punk smiled as he spotted the handful of older students.

"Yo, what are you doing up here man?" the first of them said as he spotted the new comer. "Is the opening ceremony already over?"

"I'm new here," Aizawa stated with a feral grin. "Are you third years?"

"Yeah, so?" another one of the older students replied.

"I thought I'd come and greet the strongest guy in school," the tall punk stated.

Each of the third years exchanged a glance.

"You're looking for Hino-san," the first speaker replied.

"No way, Saotome's much stronger than she is," the second speaker added. "Dude did like 500 pull ups in a couple of minutes!"

"That's just a story," a blond haired punk replied.

"Dude, I was there," the fourth senior interjected, "Saotome did 500 even – he didn't even break a sweat."

Aizawa blinked. _No way in hell! That's impossible. These jokers are just jerking me around_.

"Anyone who saw that fight at the school festival knows that Hino's the strongest," the first speaker countered. "Ask her – she fought with Hino!"

Aizawa turned around. Seeing the tiny, tanned girl in her thick winter uniform he blinked. _What the hell, she fought the strongest in the school?_ "Now you guys are pissing me off!"

"Hey, it's loincloth girl!" one of the other senior exclaimed.

"You go to school here now?" the blond punk exclaimed as he slowly backed up. Clearly he didn't want to stand by his word.

"Whatcha doing on the roof?" the clueless island girl asked as she stood in the doorway.

"I wanted to meet the strongest person in the school," the tall punk answered. "But they say that you fought the strongest in the school during the festival."

"Yeah, you fought with Hino-san," the first senior added.

Slightly embarrassed, Ginga scratched her head, "Yeah… she beat me good. But I did get a good shot in."

"What are you doing up here anyways?" the second senior asked.

"A, actually, I forgot where my classroom is," the embarrassed girl explained. "But if you're looking for the strongest of the second years, I know where to find them… though I don't know which room they're in," Ginga beamed.

Two periods later the duo found themselves standing before the attractive redhead with much help from a handful of other students and teachers guidance.

"Oh, you've made a new friend already!" the friendly redhead exclaimed as she clasped her hands together and bowed politely to the taller first year student.

Clearly astonished by the very pretty girl standing before him Aizawa blinked. He'd expected someone like Megumi Fujii or Hasie Wantanabe, or maybe Erin Toughill, but this pretty little thing before him, was she really a fighter?

"Um," he finally said, "we're just classmates. Are you really the strongest one in the school?"

Putting a finger to her lips, the redhead looked up at Aizawa. "Why are you looking for the strongest person in the school?"

"I think he wants to be the 'guardian'," Ginga said as she slowly pieced things together.

"Guardian?" the tall punk exclaimed. _Like in that manga?_

"Ah, yes, the Guardian," the redhead exclaimed. _Just like on the island_. "I'm not really well versed in that role – I will entrust it to you!"

Grasping his hands she smiled at him, making him go weak in the knees.

"That makes you number one," she added.

Somehow he managed to refrain from somehow acting out against the petite girl even as he slowly backpedaled away from her.

"Satisfied?" Ginga asked, a smile on her face.

Trembling, Aizawa pulled away. "I'm looking for the strongest guy, not the strongest girl!" he exclaimed. Really, he couldn't fight a girl, even if she was a proper fighter like Erin Toughill or Megumi Fujii.

"Oh, you're looking for a strong guy?" the redhead exclaimed. "Well, Ranma is training me now."

Ginga blinked. "You mean he's training you and Kosukegawa and Hibiki?"

The redhead nodded.

"Is he really that strong?" the tall punk asked, glad to finally have a good fight on his hands.

*****

"So this is Saotome High School?" the busty woman smirked as she glanced at the small line of 'anxious' boys lined up outside of the nurse's office.

"It's not always like this," Mr. Tanaka smirked as he looked over the line of hormonal young men. "But I can see why."

*****

"Hello, my name is Sora Uzura," the raven haired girl said as she offered her new classmates a polite bow. As a new student she knew that she had to make a good impression, still, she hated school. If only Tsukishima hadn't failed on her mission, the raven haired girl thought as she hiked up her skirt. If she'd done her job I wouldn't have to be here with stupid Sumire. But still, this Ranma's kinda cute.

Enduring usual torment of being interrogated by her new classmates she discretely stole glances at several students; first at the freakishly tall Botan Tsukishima, then at the devilishly cute Ranma Saotome.

Straightening her outfit, she carefully and strolled over to her seat, the one right next to the cute little devil himself. Though the mistress had tried to place her in the same homeroom as Izuru Hino she had ended up in the same room as the pigtailed Ranma Saotome. True, he wasn't the objective of her mission, but who cared? So long as she didn't mess with Sumire's investigation.

Despite the need to not draw too much attention to herself and to make a good impression, the raven haired girl couldn't help but feel just a bit flustered and frustrated as her attempts to flirt with the very attractive Ranma Saotome met with no results. Then again, it wasn't her fault that he had fallen asleep in class. She'd definitely have to keep an eye on him outside of class though.

Sitting through the boring class she stirred only when the bell rang at the end of the period. Though Ranma stirred enough at the end of the class to quickly finish the assignment before rushing off somewhere with several other boys in their class.

The second period was much the same as the first, very forgettable. Though she had managed to sneak into Ranma's desk and steal his assignment from the first period. She'd expected that he had just quickly jotted down some notes and half assed answers, but to see that he'd correctly answered all the problems to the math assignment Sora was more than a little surprised. Was he that smart? And if he was a truly good fighter then he really was quite a catch. Well, if you could get past his messy handwriting he was pretty good.

The bell announcing the end of the second period after the morning ceremony barely registered to Sora as she leaned back in her seat. Once again Ranma pulled took out the assignment and quickly finished it.

"Ranma!" several voices called out just minutes after the bell sounded.

"Yo," the ever casual and relaxed Ranma replied, "what's up Hino? Hey Ginga."

Sitting up at the mention of two of the individuals that she and Sumire had been sent to observe, the raven haired girl, and virtually everyone else in the room looked up.

"Ginga's new friend wants to be the Guardian," Hino stated with a pleasant smile on her lips.

The rest of the class quickly stirred at those words, the title Guardian resounding with various connotations to everyone in the room.

It didn't surprise Ranma that someone wanted a piece of him. Hell, things had been that way before - he was just surprised that it had taken him this long to have someone challenge him. But this was the new Ranma. As a sensei and master of his own dojo he was above taking random challenges, especially at school. Challenges to his dojo were one thing, but school yard brawls were below him. Still, he couldn't ignore a challenge, but how to deal with it without losing face and without tarnishing his honor?

Instinctively he stood up and walked out to the hallway despite not knowing how to resolve this issue. In the short time between standing up at his desk and getting out to the hallway, the pigtailed boy had his solution.

Word of the impending fight quickly spread through the neighboring classrooms even as the teachers sought to intervene (wow, responsible teachers for once).

"No fighting Saotome!" Miss Fuji the science teacher shouted.

"You heard her," Ranma said as he eyed the tall punk. "If you really want a fight against a dojo master, come to my dojo, but you want a simple school yard brawl, I'm not gonna give that to you. But I can see that you're itching for some action – so tell you what, if you can land a hit on me before the bell sounds for the next class I'll admit that you're stronger than me."

"Oooh!" the gathered students exclaimed even as the closest students backed away, leaving the two enough room to rumble.

"And I won't use my hands to parry," the pigtailed boy said as he slipped his hands behind his back.

Enraged by the blatant display of disrespect, the taller Aizawa charged only to stop as he found Ranma's foot a mere centimeter from his face.

"Oooh!" the gathered students exclaimed, clearly amazed at the display of speed and precision from the pigtailed boy.

Aizawa blinked. He hadn't seen anything, but he'd felt the delicate and precise hits that had clipped his uniform.

"You've got some skill, but you're not even close to being in my league," Ranma stated. Retracting his foot he stood tall as he extended his hand and revealed the dozen buttons to the punk's uniform even as the jacket of the winter uniform slowly opened.

"He said he wasn't going to hit him, but look at what he did to dude's coat!" someone exclaimed.

"Did you see that?!"

"He didn't need to hit the guy to end the fight!"

Looking his opponent in the eye Ranma grabbed his hand before dumping the buttons into his hand. "You want to be the Guardian or whatever, fine - be the Guardian," he whispered to the stunned Aizawa.

*****

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Notes –

Yes, I've been busy lately – three new fics, finishing one, and trying to update this one as well. Oh, and finally buying a house. Yes, I don't have internet yet either. With the latest project I'll be tied up for some time, not to mention that we don't have internet set up for the house yet. Yes, my updates will be slower.

When you see this – "_Hi!_" – the italics in quotation marks, they're speaking Chinese.

That said - this fic is taking a big change of direction. It's already been established that Ranma is well out of the league of any of the fighters from Change 123, so he's going to need something more to keep him involved.

* * * * *

The cool, almost chilly late winter wind seemed to keep most of the other students inside as the large groups gathered in the hallways and rooms, discussing their the new school, new students, or the new term. But for the pigtailed martial artist, the roof provided him with the perfect place for some solitude as he contemplated his situation. Though he had wanted to avoid a confrontation with the newest punk in the school, Ranma ultimately had been forced to show some of his fighting potential, well just enough to convince the tall punk that he wasn't in Ranma's league.

It was that display that left him feeling more than just a bit uncomfortable. In projecting his battle aura enough to scare the unschooled and undisciplined punk, Ranma had noticed the number of fighters that the school had, many of them among the new students and teachers.

"So," he said, stopping the unknown girl in her tracks as she tried to sneak up on him. She'd probably have been successful to given that the door to the stairwell was wide open and she'd been relatively quiet, but his ability to sense an attack always trumped a silent attacker. "I take it you're one of the new kids trying to test just how good I am?"

"I was considering it," the distinctly female voice replied.

She definitely didn't sound like someone his age. Was she one of the teachers? Turning around Ranma wasn't completely surprised to see the new school nurse. Having dealt with Dr. Tofu's eccentric yet useful knowledge of the healing arts and martial arts the pigtailed fighter knew that he should have overlooked the possibility that the new nurse (as busty as she was) was an accomplished martial artist.

"You're definitely not someone I would have though wanted to make a name for themselves and be the 'Guardian'," he said coolly.

"I'm not here to see how good you are," she stated, "I already know that you're a much better martial artist than I am. No, I'm here to bring you in."

"What, the bell hasn't even rung yet," Ranma joked. Seeing her warm smile, Ranma knew that she'd already melted the hearts of many of his peers. She definitely had the edge in looking sexy and being able to manipulate the boys, but those tricks wouldn't work against him.

"You are Ranma Saotome," the nurse stated. "You are the only son of one bastard Genma Saotome and Nodoka Gettou."

Ranma blinked. That had caught him by surprise.

"I know your grandmother," the older woman stated. "She wanted me to bring you and Motoko back into the fold."

"And why would I want back in?" the young martial artist replied.

"What do you plan to do once you're done with school?"

Though she had a valid question, Ranma resorted to what he knew best – deflecting and joking. "I though you were the school nurse, not the guidance counselor."

"Simply running a dojo is nice, but teaching and instructing will only fulfill you so much," the older woman replied. "Though you're more than up for the challenge, I'm sure that you want to do more than just spar with your handful of students. By rejoining your grandmother and taking up where your mother left, you could do so much more."

Weighing her words, Ranma considered if maybe she did have a valid point. Still, he couldn't just abandon his students, not now. "Maybe in a few years," he finally said, "once I've graduated from high school I'll give you an answer."

* * * * *

The new term had gone surprisingly well for Ranma and the rest of the students and faculty at Saotome High. With all the formalities and festivities of the first day of the term over Ranma was allowed to wear his usual red silk shirt and black pants, though many seemed to view that as a sign that he was in fact the 'Guardian' of the school due to his blatant disregard for rules and not wanting to blend in like the rest of the students. If not for the fact that he tended to hang around students like Kannami and other outstanding students, many would have thought that Ranma really was a rogue and vagrant.

"_You think that'll work?_" the blond genius asked in fluent Mandarin.

"_Maybe_," the pigtailed boy replied as he looked down at his meager lunch, though meager was a relative term for someone who could consume as much as he could. The two orders of food from the nearby fast food chain had vanished in a few seconds, the same amount of time that it had taken Kannami to take a sip of his tea. "_But just in case I've brought in some help_," he explained in broken Mandarin.

Sitting on the roof with many students around them, the pair had decided that the best way for them to have a private conversation while in the midst of their peers was to speak in another language. English was spoken by too many of their peers, but Mandarin (something Ranma had picked up a bit in his recent travels to Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as his time around the Chinese Amazons) was spoken by fewer people given the long history of bad blood between the Chinese and Japanese. As such it was the perfect language for the two to converse in given the number of supposed spies that were looking into Ranma and Motoko's activities.

"_You're sure that they're capable of handling her?_" the blond asked skeptically.

"_Ryoga's been named as the heir to the Tendo branch of the school_," Ranma replied. "_He's also my longtime rival. Kuno doesn't know what he's in for, but I'm sure he's going to do just what I expect him to do_."

"_Which is to annoy Blue enough to force her to fuse with Black_," Kannami stated as he eyed the last of his lunch. Rather than referring to the girls by their names, they had taken to referring to them through code – red for Hibiki, yellow for Miriki, blue for Fujiko, and black for Zero.

Ranma nodded. "_Taro was the hardest to convince, but he promised to help out once the old man agreed to rename him. The only problem is getting Hero to stay out of trouble once everything goes down_." They had of course been forced to find a code name for Teruharu 'Hideo' Kosukegawa as well.

If I only had someone of your caliber when I first came up with the test for Motoko, Kannami mused as he finished his meal. "_When are you going to start everything?_"

"_It's already started_," the raven haired boy replied. "_I just hope Ryoga manages to find Motoko when HiFuMi is in control_."

* * * * *

Weeks flew by with little change other than the fact that Kosukegawa was slowly learning another style of Tai Chi. Well, Osuma's puppy was no longer a puppy, and the big lug had started taking advanced Judo lessons from Ranma. He'd even taken to using other styles against the firmly set Judo practitioner.

Looking out of the window Ranma wondered just where his former rival had gone.

"Wanna play Old Maid?" Kosukegawa asked cheerfully from the middle seat.

Ranma repressed the urge to shudder.

"It's just a friendly game," the tall and muscular Saitou, the captain of the second years for the Judo team smirked.

It hadn't taken long for the entire school to find out about Ranma's weakness – his inability to bluff. Then again, he'd rarely needed to bluff in a fight. But card games and gambling were different. They worked on a completely different set of rules.

"How about Hearts?" Ranma countered.

"We'd need a fourth," Kosukegawa replied.

"Osuma!" Ranma said, standing up slightly so that he could put his hand on the taller boy's shoulder, "Why don't you play with us?"

Glancing at the cute girl to his left the taller boy froze. He did owe Ranma for the free lessons/sparring, but this was supposed to be his time with Osada….

"If Motoko and I join we can all play Old Maid," the slight girl suggested, pounding in the last nail in Ranma's coffin.

"Well, um," the timid container of HiFuMi muttered.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Osada beamed. "What else are we going to do while we're on the plan?"

"Seven'll make it the perfect number," Kannami said with a slight smile.

Damn, even he's getting in on this, the raven haired boy grumbled as he considered his odds. Why the hell did I have to sit next to these goons on the flight to Okinawa?

"Excuse me," the bright and cheerful face of one Izuru Hino interrupted.

"Izuru," Ranma blurted, ignoring the fact that he had addressed her with her given name rather than her family name.

"I need to borrow Ranma for a few minutes," the cheerful red-head said, her warm smiling miraculously saving the pigtailed boy.

Counting his blessings, Ranma stood up and slipped past Hideo and Osuma as he unofficially ran from the challenge his classmates had thrown his way. But it was card games and gambling; he was exempt from the challenge because it wasn't martial arts oriented.

"Thanks for the save," he whispered to the redhead as she lead him away.

"While I may have save you from them, I didn't save you from playing," she replied with a smile.

_Damn! I knew I should have just swam to Okinawa. _

* * * * *

By the time they finally made it to the beach Ranma began to wonder if perhaps he should have stayed behind. Having been coerced into gambling for duties, the pigtailed boy had ultimately been saddled with trash and recycling as well as helping lug around Osuma and Osada's things while they were at the beach.

With his curse currently locked so that he was stuck in his male form, Ranma was feeling good about this trip to the beach. For once he didn't have to pack a bathing suit or bikini or have to worry about Happosai stealing his top or copping a feel. Maybe, just maybe, it was actually worth the crap that he got from his peers. Hell, it was a lot easier to deal with than the various fights, challenges, and other things that usually happened with his old crew.

Looking at the deep, blue, sparkling water, Ranma felt himself smile. Even the cool, salty water that the new girl had managed to splash him with didn't damper his mood (especially since he didn't change into a girl anymore) though he did instinctively check for any leering perverts.

"Is this your first time to the ocean?" Sora asked with a crooked smile. "Looks like even the 'Guardian' can be caught off guard."

Several of their classmates started shouting, adding fuel to the fire. Clearly someone needed to be put in their place. Ever since the display at the beginning of the term, the pigtailed master martial artist occasionally felt the new girl's eyes on him, often trying to appraise him in a way very similar what Cologne had done when he'd first met the old ghoul.

Glancing around Ranma smiled. Pulling out some money he quickly paid for some melons before casually tossing one to Sora. "You know the usual beach game of breaking a watermelon, right?"

The predatory girl nodded as Ranma kicked a stick over to her which she deftly caught with her free hand.

"Well, the object is to be the last person with an unbroken melon," the pigtailed boy explained with a grin. "I'm sure we've all got enough melons and sticks around."

Grabbing one for himself Ranma spun it on his extended finger. "It's a good game and everyone gets to enjoy a new twist on the usual beach games."

Ozuma nodded, taking a small melon out for Osada before grabbing one for himself. "Then we can go rinse ourselves off afterwards," the tall judo practitioner added.

Though many of the other students were reluctant, seeing the petite Hino and the usually un-energetic Motoko (and Kosukegawa, but few were paying any attention to him) grabbing melons and sticks the others in the class soon followed suit.

"What are the rules?" Osada asked for clarification.

"No hitting each other with your sticks," Ranma explained, "and to make this really interesting you can form teams, but there can only be one winner… so the first person to cross the finish line…"

"Finish line? I thought you said the last person with a watermelon?" one of the guys shouted out.

"Yeah, but to keep you guys from accidentally hurting someone we're going to make it a race," the pigtailed boy amended. "That we we're all spread out some more."

Many of the others nodded, accepting Ranma's suggestion. Slowly a long line formed (with many of the students trying to stay out of reach of Ranma. Taking several steps back from the line, Ranma gave everyone else a good five meter lead. "Just so that everyone of you has a chance to win," he said with a knowing smile.

"And for an impartial judge," the distinct voice of the new school nurse interjected, drawing many of the boys' attention as the tiny bikini somehow defied gravity (and the silent prayers) and held up her ample assets, "I'll be at the finish line."

"Does the winner get anything?" several boys blurted out.

"How about lunch with one of us?" the new P.E. instructor and object of many girls' daydreams suggested, drawing a chorus of groans from the boys while the girls of course giggled happily.

Of course more students from the other classes decided to join the fray.

"I'll even supervise the 'contest' to make sure no one gets hurt," the devilishly handsome and athletic man said with a smile that made many of the girls blush or swoon. "And our nurse will be on hand just in case something happens."

The line before him grew longer as more students emptied the vendor's stand of watermelons. It almost looked as though everyone in the second year class, all 157 of them, were participating in this little game.

"You've done this before," Kannami stated as he took a position not too far from Ranma.

"Why are you over here?" the martial artist asked, trying to deflect the subject.

"While I may not be in your league or even Motoko and Hino's league, I'm capable of handling myself in most situations," the blond smirked. "And we are here to have some fun, are we not?"

Ranma nodded. Yes, this was all about having fun, but he knew that not everyone saw it that way.

* * * * *

Never one to want to stand out, Motoko wasn't sure that she wanted to participate in Ranma's impromptu challenge to the new girl Sora. Yes, he'd been pushing her to become more confident in her own abilities and not to rely on, well, the others, but did she really want to become more like them? Yes, Mikiru was playful, but she was easily the least mature of the group. Hibiki was very hotheaded and while she often saved Motoko, Hibiki was just as likely to cause trouble for her. Only Fujiko appeared to be someone she would want to emulate, but given how cool she was with Kosukegawa and the possibility that the speedster was interested more in Kannami than the runty Kosukegawa, Motoko wasn't sure if she wanted to be too much like Fujiko.

Though she had endured a few months of training under Ranma (having also started with Tai Chi to work on her balance) she was not allowed to revert to one of her other personalities to deal with the grueling training as Ranma was prone to take it much harder on whichever persona that appeared. After having brought out Zero several times Motoko had been forced to endure the training sessions herself rather than suffer the lingering bruises and aching muscles that were a result of Ranma working all four of her other personas hard.

Still, facing off against virtually everyone while trying to defend her watermelon, well, that was just odd, though apparently not that odd for the pigtailed martial artist.

Clutching her stick she tried to recall everything that Ranma had taught her.

_Watch out for Ranma, Kosukegawa, Hino, Ozuma, and Osada_, Fujiko cautioned.

_Ranma's the obvious threat_, Hibiki seconded. He's bound to test you guys.

_Ohh, I wanna do this_, Mikiri whined. _This looks like fun… and all those watermelons_…

_Just stay calm and keep your defenses up_, Fujiko advised.

Nodding, Motoko hugged the watermelon. So focused on the competition was she that the be-speckled girl failed to notice the many leering looks that several boys were shooting over at her, Kosukegawa included. Though she knew that she'd attracted the attention of many depraved men and boys, she'd somehow allowed Ranma, Hino, and Anna to convince her to wear a red bikini with yellow pokadots and tied together with blue strings. The tiny bikini barely covered her ample assets, and if Mikiri were to come out, well, then she'd really come out.

_Damn! I never noticed how hot Motoko was!_

_Kosukegawa hasn't worked up the courage to kiss her! What an idiot!_

_If I were her boyfriend I'd have… and… and…_

_How the hell id Kosukegawa get a hottie like Motoko?!_

_Those otaku losers were right – Motoko's a total babe!_

_I knew I shouldn't have forgotten to bring my cell phone!_

_I'm going to make millions on these pictures!_

_I'm never going to rip on Ranma after this… _

_Thank you Ranma… _

_I'm definitely taking Kosukegawa out first. Then Motoko will see how much cooler I am and dump him for me!_

* * * * *

A cold shiver ran down Kosukegawa's spine despite the warm, tropical weather. Seeing the many looks that some of his peers and classmates were throwing his girlfriend and then him, he knew (or at least thought he did) just what they were thinking – how the hell did he get someone like Motoko to be his girlfriend?

_Just you wait – I'm going to prove myself to all of you. Motoko and I belong together!_

* * * * *

"Begin!"

Instinctively Motoko pulled her water melon towards her as someone to her right tried to smash her melon. A quick poke was all she needed to knock her attacker's melon out of his hand, sending the juicy fruit to an early and unfortunate demise against the compact sand.

All around many other students lost their melons as they either tripped over their own feet or were bested by their friends, peers, and fellow classmates.

Blocking a swift strike from one of the kendo students she leaned to the side and pivoted on her left foot before countering with a precise kick that sent the long haired boy's melon flying out of his hands and into the back of another student, toppling him and causing him to break his own watermelon.

_Yeah, two down with one blow! Way to go Motoko!_ Hibiki cheered. As much as she wanted to participate, she knew that aside from Ranma and Hino, no one else in the competition would be worth her time.

Slowly she made her way past the defeated boys around her as she sought to protect her melon from harm. Scanning the beach she saw a large crowd of girls making a mad dash for the finish line even as they fought amongst themselves. The athletic girls all belonged to one of the many sports teams or clubs, though none of them seemed to stand out too much.

Like Ranma, Hino drew a wide birth from those around her. Having seen her display of skill during the previous school festival everyone knew that she was second only to Ranma and none dared to challenge her.

Then there was the large fight brewing around Kosukegawa. Somehow he always managed to get into trouble, even without Motoko around. Making her way towards her boyfriend, the be-speckled girl batted away the strikes of several assailants before countering with swift blows that broke their respective melons. Planting her foot, she spun herself, avoiding a rushed attack while also sending her attacker into the sand where she dropped her melon as she fell.

* * * * *

Sora was having fun. As a speed and defensive type, and one of her caliber, she was more than ready to deal with anyone that dared to come her way. She'd personally dispatched over a dozen of the other participants as she waited for Ranma. She knew she couldn't just launch into a fight with him, not without warming up a bit first at least.

Fending off Ozuma's wicked yet very precise attack, she countered with a fierce throw, sending her stick right into the large oaf's melon and eliminating him from the competition. Smiling wickedly she retrieved her weapon before rushing towards her next target – Izuru Hino.

"SAOTOME!" someone shouted, drawing everyone's attention to the odd young man standing guard at the finish line. "Prepare to die you foul, two-timing bastard!"

That was unexpected.

* * * * *

A/N

I'm going to leave this here for now. I figure the fight scene is going to take too long to write and given how long I've made you guys wait for this update, well, you deserve to get this now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Notes –

Yes, I've been busy lately – three new fics, finishing one, and trying to update this one as well. Oh, and finally buying a house. Yes, I don't have internet yet either. With the latest project I'll be tied up for some time, not to mention that we don't have internet set up for the house yet. Yes, my updates will be slower.

When you see this – "_Hi!_" – the italics in quotation marks, they're speaking Chinese.

That said - this fic is taking a big change of direction. It's already been established that Ranma is well out of the league of any of the fighters from Change 123, so he's going to need something more to keep him involved.

* * * * *

For the longest time (more like the past year really) Tatewaki Kuno had blamed all of his problems with women on one person – Ranma Saotome. The foul boy not only failed to pay the proper respects to the upper classman and captain of the Kendo team, but he had stood between himself and the two beautiful maidens that he loved – the lovely and energetic Akane Tendo and the angelic pigtailed girl Ranma Saotome. If not for the male Ranma Saotome's corrupting influence on the two, Kuno was sure that he would have won their hearts.

Word of Ranma's departure from Nerima and Furinkan High had spread like wildfire. His diabolic plan to rid himself of his nemesis had been successful. And yet he failed to free the redheaded Ranma Saotome from the raven haired Ranma Saotome. Ultimately it had been a choice between saving Akane Tendo or saving the redheaded beauty. As the redhead was already defiled by Ranma Kuno had chosen to save Akane instead.

Despite Ranma's absence Akane had refused him repeatedly. He'd expected that of course as Ranma's foul magics were probably still lingering and clouding her mind. But after several months of Ranma's absence (save for a brief visit) his nemesis still maintained a powerful hold on Akane.

That fact had been enough to disturb his rigorous training, foiling his final attempt to make a name for himself on a national scale as he was disqualified from the national competition for injuring a referee (who happened to be named Saotome, and who happened to be refereeing a match against the team from Saotome High School).

It was a Saotome conspiracy against him. First Ranma had foiled his attempts to win over Akane Saotome, then the blasted referee Saotome and the stupid Saotome High School.

He'd had months to simmer and train while his loyal ninja tried to locate Ranma Saotome. Then word had reached him that the cursed Saotome would be in Okinawa. Of course the evil Ranma Saotome would be accompanied by a beavy of young beauties, but one in particular, a Motoko Gettou, was said to be under Ranma's spell.

Not only would Kuno eliminate Ranma once and for all, but he would claim the foul sorcerer's newest wench for his own. And a fine wench she was this Motoko Gettou. With her ample breasts and fine figure she was truly a damsel in distress.

But he would take care of Ranma first.

* * * * *

After months without a decent challenge (save for the few times when Ryoga or Happosai happened to show up) Ranma knew that a fight with Kuno would be enjoyable. But he couldn't… no, it wasn't his fight. Kuno was here for one reason (well, to Ranma at least) and that wasn't him.

Flipping over a wicked slash, Ranma connected with a wicked upside-down spinning kick to the head that sent the kendoka flying towards Motoko.

Seeing the kendoka collide with Kosukegawa, knocking the unfortunate boy out while also smashing his watermelon, before the two boys collided with Motoko brought a slight cringe of regret to Ranma's face. He really didn't want to injure either of his students, but he just couldn't help it. It had to be done. Now all he had to do was keep Izuru busy and keep everyone from paying attention to Motoko and Kosukegawa.

And then there was Sora Uzuki and Sumire Kisaragi.

If not for the fact that he was a respected master martial artist Ranma would have smiled wickedly.

Leaping into the air and landing out of sight from the Blue Blunder, Ranma knocked the melon out of Kannami's hand, taking the blond out of the competition. Another mighty leap took him directly into Izuru's path as she moved to assist her friends.

"Sorry Izuru," Ranma said as he took a swipe at her, "you gotta beat me before you can help them."

Startled, the redhead simply stood there before nodding. Though she couldn't beat Ranma, she knew that she didn't have to. Smashing her own melon she turned around.

With blinding speed, Ranma took a parting shot, expertly untying the knot to her bikini top and effectively keeping the redhead from interfering with his plans.

"That's pretty low," the new girl, Sora, said with a wicked smile even as Izuru noticed that her top was coming undone.

Ranma simply shrugged as he turned to the athletic (and attractive) Sora. He didn't even bother to respond as he knew that he'd end up incriminating himself even as several eliminated boys gathered around Hino as they offered to 'help' her. Others simply took pictures (though fairly discretely) of the young beauty in her current state of undress.

A quick (to everyone but Ranma it was quick) lunge forced Sora on the defensive as Ranma sought to test her skills. High attack, middle attack, low attack, horizontal attack, diagonal attack, high attack, low attack, horizontal attack – each was met with a skillful parry or block, though no outright dodges. Clearly she wasn't used to being pressed in a battle of speed. And she lacked power.

Adding more speed and power to each attack, Ranma slowly herded his opponent towards the finish line.

* * * * *

Fujiko groaned. The last thing she remembered was Motoko firmly asking that no one interfere with the watermelon smashing contest. Apparently someone had tripped her up.

"Um, Motoko?" Kosukegawa mumbled.

No, she hadn't tripped up, Kosukegawa had crashed into her.

"Your face is…"

He didn't have to say it out loud really. Fujiko knew that she had somehow managed to land with her face (or Motoko's face) in his crotch and she could feel his steadily growing…

No, she didn't want to go there. Hibiki might want to go there, and maybe Mikiri, but not her.

But if she was pressed against his crotch, whose hands were on her breasts? And whose face between her legs?

Somehow she managed to slip out of the tangled mass that had included her and two others (one of them being Kosukegawa).

"Ah, you must be Motoko Gettou," the other boy said.

It was him, the boy that had attacked Ranma. But why did he know her name?

"I shall free you of the foul sorcerer's corrupting influence," he declared. "Even if I must beat it out of you. You'll make a fine wench and concubine."

* * * * *

The blond genius couldn't help but wonder if Ranma had really planned things to go the way they had gone. Yes, Ranma was much smarter than most people gave him credit for, but he wasn't that smart, was he? More likely he just came up with the plan on the fly, but still, to be this prepared… And how the hell had Ranma managed to smuggle this past airport security?

Shaking his head, Kannami hoped that Ranma knew what he was doing. The blond really didn't want to have to burn through more of his connections to clear this mess up if Ranma's plan did go south.

* * * * *

With every three steps Ranma had managed to forced more and more of the students towards the finish line. And even though he was herding them that way, he knew that no one dared to make a break for the finish line as Ranma had often chosen to disarm himself voluntarily by throwing his stick at the offending student, smashing their watermelon and eliminating them from the competition, then somehow managing to steal someone else's stick.

Yes, he was proving to everyone just how far out of their league he was, and he wasn't even going all out. Now all he had to do was to wait for his bomb to go off.

* * * * *

There were few times in Fujiko's existence where she'd felt so frustrated. As the calm, cool, and intellectual persona, it was her duty to retain control of the situation around her. But dealing with this… perverted moron named Tatewaki Kuno was just too much. Not only was he a moron and a pervert, but he was very good with a bokken as well. Sure, he wasn't as good all around as Ranma, but he was closer to Ranma than she was. In short, she was frustrated. As the fastest and most precise fighter of the three base personas, Fujiko knew that neither Hibiki nor Mikiri would be able to keep up with the lightning quick strikes that the self proclaimed "Blue Thunder" managed to produce. And then there was the fact that every blow was extended by the highly pressurized air behind the blow. Though she'd managed to avoid the brunt of the damage, Fujiko knew that Motoko's new bikini wouldn't last the day – hell, it wouldn't last more than a few minutes.

Barely dodging a swift thrust, the speedster spun and lashed out with a sweep and followed up with a low-high diagonal slash that scored a hit on Kuno. Unfortunately the near miss had cost her the bikini top as it flew free of her ample breasts.

Startled by the blow (which was admittedly very weak compared to what Ranma and Ryoga dished out) Kuno ran his fingers through his hair as he stood tall and prepared a monologue. The sight of the beauty's bare breasts silenced him though.

Having seen Motoko (and Hibiki and Mikiri) topless before, Kosukegawa was slightly startled to see Fujiko topless as she faced off against the mysterious kendoka, though when he looked back on their past he really shouldn't have been surprised. The fact that he had a half watermelon on his head didn't bother him at all as he moved to shield Fujiko and provide her with some measure of modesty.

The lightning quick blow that cracked his head (and sundered the remains of the melon on his head) filled his vision with blue birds.

"Kosukegawa!" Fujiko found herself shouting as the runty youth fell to the sand. The sight of red liquid spraying from the blow to his head had been the last straw for the normally calm and collected girl. Feeling the cold and compassionless Zero taking over, Fujiko rushed at Kosukegawa's attacker heedless of her state of undress.

* * * * *

_This couldn't have gone better if I had planned it myself_, Kannami thought as he took a seat on the warm sand. Yes, Ranma's plan was working out exceedingly well, though the timing was just slightly off. _Three more seconds_, the blond though as he looked at his watch. _Two… one_…

Several pops throughout the beach were covered up by the sounds of cheering and fighting as many of the students continued to either participate in the contest or were cheering the remaining participants.

* * * * *

To Ranma's keen ears the sound of the handful of canisters releasing their smoke was a welcome sign. He didn't need to steal a glance at Fujiko to know that Zero had infused herself into the fight. Over the past few months he'd become accustomed to each girls' distinctive ki aura, and feeling Zero's combine with Fujiko's was a sign that things were going just as he'd planned.

Forcing himself to not smirk, Ranma launched a barrage of attacks upon his opponents, spraying them with sweet, sticky juice as he broke their melons with lightning quick, precise strikes.

By the time he crossed the finish line the incense was starting to take effect.

* * * * *

There were few times in Kuno's life when he'd ever been driven back by the relentless assault of his opponent. The cursed Saotome never drove him back (though he did knock him out or sent him flying). Akane usually waited for him to try and press an unseen advantage before beating him. Ryoga, well, he was relentless, but he also ended things with a decisive blow. Only the foreign Mousse attacked in barrages, but Kuno rarely ever fought against Mousse. But this girl, this Motoko Gettou, she was a fierce beast. Attacking relentlessly her precise and quick strikes were slowly pushing Kuno back. Only his father had forced him to go on the defensive, and for this lovely beauty to do so… she truly was worthy of him. Perhaps even more so than Akane Tendo. No wonder Ranma had set Akane aside for this young beauty.

Lost in his thoughts, Kuno relied on his instincts and muscle memory to parry and block, knocking back Fujiko/Zero's attacks even as he was forced to backpedal. Were the terrain his only concern Kuno probably would have done very well, but he'd failed to account for the various pieces of melon lying around. Stepping onto the slippery rind, he momentarily lost his footing and balance, leaving just enough of an opening for his busty opponent to disarm him.

Regaining his footing, Kuno smiled as his opponent paused. Figuring that she was content to simply disarm him, he stood tall. "You have bested me," he conceded. "You have earned the right to date with mEEEE!"

The crushing blow to his little sword floored him and Kuno was now eating sand. A few powerful blows to the back of the head, his back, and legs stung, but nothing surpassed the pain he was feeling between his legs. Having never been hit down there, Kuno had never experienced such excruciating pain. Maybe he would have to rethink his position on this Motoko Gettou.

* * * * *

"You're sure he's going to be alright?" Kannami asked as Ranma approached him.

"I've hit him with worse," the pigtailed master martial artist replied. "Though none of the Wrecking Crew ever went for a low blow like that, everything else seems to be light fare. Besides, the incense is starting to kick in."

Few people bothered to pay attention to Motoko/Fujiko/Zero, or if they were, they were doing so from a distance as the boy and girl repellant incense drove the girls far from the boys and vice versa. Even the enraged Zero was forced to concede to the effects of the incense as she ran away from Kuno and towards Izuru, the latter holding a towel out to the busty girl to provide her with some modesty. The boys were just too far away to get a good view or to take decent pictures, thus saving Motoko and Kosukegawa from too much embarrassment, though few could tell that Motoko/Fujiko/Zero was even topless to begin with.

"Admit it," Ranma said with a smirk, "you didn't think this would work."

Kannami smiled. "After seeing you do what you did to Cologne, I'm not surprised by anything you do. I'm just amazed that there are things like opposite sex repelling incense. On the plan ride here I would have been more likely to believe in a biological organism that devoured petroleum products than in that incense."

"Well, I'll believe the petroleum devouring organism when I see it in action," Ranma replied as he tapped the unused canister. "I would have used it too if not for the fact that it takes half an hour to take effect."

Kannami fought the urge to blink.

"Good thing I didn't use it," the pigtailed martial artist added. "I forgot to wear my cotton boxers today."

* * * * *

"That was one interesting trip to the beach," Sora admitted as she examined her reflection in the mirror. The baby blue t-shirt was probably one size too small, but it clung to her curves and would draw more than enough attention to her body, though hopefully it would draw in the right set of eyes to her.

"I told you that Ranma was good," the taller, tanned girl stated. "And he still hasn't gone all out against us."

"No matter," the third occupant of the room said with a smile. "We're not here to see his full potential – we're here to convince him to return to the family."

"That's what I plan on doing," the shorter of the two girls stated as she adjusted the hem of her navy blue skirt.

* * * * *

"You're sure that the shampoo is going to work?" Kosukegawa asked as he gingerly touched the large bump on his head.

"Kuno's a moron, so there's a strong possibility that his brain is just wired differently and that the shampoo won't work," Ranma shrugged as he helped the still unconscious Kuno into the taxi. "When Shampoo, the Amazon girl, used it on Akane she forgot about me completely. If not for the fact that I was trying to get her to remember me it probably wouldn't have work. But since no one wants Kuno to remember them, well, I'm fairly certain that it'll work."

"Where too?" the driver asked.

"Nerima," the pigtailed boy said with a smile as he handed the driver Kuno's address and wallet.

Seeing the large wad of bills the driver nodded. After all, the ID matched the passenger, and the boy was clearly alive, just not awake – it wasn't against their policy to drive someone home, or even to the nearest station.

"You do know that there's now way he can drive all the way to Nerima, right?" the injured Kosukegawa asked.

"Of course," Ranma replied as he closed the door to the taxi. "The driver's going to drop him off at the harbor and throw him on the next boat to Tokyo. I left specific instructions."

"So, what was up with that guy? Why does he have a bad response to watermelons?" the runty pupil asked his master and instructor.

"Pavlov's bells," Ranma replied.

Both Kosukegawa and Ozuma blinked.

"Pavlov was a psychologist who trained dogs," the blond explained. "He would ring a bell whenever he brought the dogs their food. After a while the dogs responded to the bell as they associated it with food."

"So every time they heard the bell they came running for food," the taller Ozuma concluded. "What's that got to do with this guy?"

"As a swordsman he trained under a waterfall and had his servant fill the river overhead with watermelons," Ranma explained. "It was a way for him to train his reflexes but ended up making him want to beat up and cut watermelons every time he sees them."

His two pupils blinked.

"That's what can happen when you train yourself too much," Ranma cautioned.

"The side effects of overtraining," Kannami added as he shot Ranma a knowing glance. Just what side effects did Ranma have? He'd heard of the split personality but Ranma didn't tell anyone about that one. Perhaps he'd have to purchase that information from Nabiki…

* * * * *

A/N

I hope you all enjoyed that.

To the handful of readers of this fic, there's a new poll on my profile about this fic.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Notes –

Yes, I've been busy lately – what do you expect, it's the holidays.

When you see this – "_Hi!_" – the italics in quotation marks, they're speaking Chinese.

I'm sure some of you have noticed that I've bumped up the rating of this fic. Yes, it's unfortunate, but as both Ranma and Change 123 deal with nudity, and well, Kosukegawa is a perv, things are going to get a bit more suggestive, and bloody, but not in that way… get your minds out of the gutter.

* * * * *

The warm, evening breeze blowing off of the ocean felt refreshing and invigorating to the exhausted young men as prepared themselves for an evening of fun with their friends. After the frantic events of the morning and noon everyone was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon away from the beach.

"I'm telling you Ranma," the towering Ozuma said as he pulled on a tight polo shirt, "that new girl, Sora, she's gunning for you."

"Of course she is," the pigtailed master martial artist shot back, "everyone wants to see how good I am. Even after I put that first year in his place people are wondering if I'm as good as I say I am. Seeing how everyone thought that Ginga and Izuru's fight at the school festival is still fresh in everyone's mind, they're wondering if I really can top those two."

Ozuma glanced at Kannami, hoping that the genius would back him up. Though Ranma was a genius in his own right, he just didn't get women.

For his part Kannami just shrugged. This was what every normal school boy experienced, even if Ranma wasn't very normal.

* * * * *

"You had such a nice bathing suit," Osada lamented as she eyed the tattered remains of Motoko's bikini. Considering what she'd spent on it, Motoko couldn't help but hope that Fujiko had extracted the appropriate amount of revenge for the battered article of clothing.

Motoko nodded. She really didn't recall much after Kosukegawa bumped into her, and Fujiko wasn't telling her anything, though the usually cool and reserved persona rarely told her anything unless it was absolutely necessary. Trusting her other persona, the busty and often clueless girl sighed as she threw the tattered and battered remains of her swimsuit into the trash.

"So, where are you and Kosukegawa going?" the energetic Kotou asked as she held up a sheer ocean aqua top and considered her reflection.

Motoko couldn't help but blush. She hated when the girls asked her about her relationship with Kosukegawa as she herself was unsure. "Um, I don't know."

"Why'd you settle for him anyways?" the now navy blue haired Yamatou asked. "I mean, you could be so hot if you really wanted to, but he's kinda a, well, he's a Kamen Rider Otaku."

The other girls nodded.

"Did you see the way the other guys were checking you out at the beach?" the sporty Rei asked. "Hell, did you see the way some of the girls were checking you out? Most of us would kill for a figure like yours."

"Not to mention breasts like this," the blunette added as she slipped behind Motoko and cupped the busty girl's breasts. "There so firm and perky."

Motoko blushed. If not for her constant training with Ranma the usually timid and mousy girl would have reverted to her usual tactic of letting Fujiko or one of the others deal with being groped, even if it was by another girl. But with Ranma's help she was able to endure it, only so that she could eventually, possibly, allow Kosukegawa to grope her just as Yamatou was now doing or how the other girls had done to her when they all had to endure their physicals.

An unexpected gentle knocking on the door stopped any further transgressions, though Rei now was cupping Motoko's breasts from the front while Yamatou had her hands on Motoko's butt.

"Who is it?" Osada asked as she shook her head at her roommates.

"It's me, Hino," the gentle voice of surprisingly gentle and demure redhead replied through the bolted and locked door.

* * * * *

"You guys ready?" Ranma asked his roommates as he walked towards their door. Grabbing one of the electronic room keys, he shoved it into the pocket of his usual black pants.

"It's easy for you to get dressed," Ozuma shouted as the judo practitioner cleaned his razor.

"Yeah," Kosukegawa interjected, "you always wear the same red, silk shirt and black pants."

Ranma blinked, "So? I make it look good. Besides, I work red swim trunks at the beach."

"Yeah, so?" Ozuma asked as he put checked his reflection.

"So I'm not always wearing the same outfit," the pigtailed boy explained. Waiting patiently, he stood by the door as the others finished dressing. Finally, all the boys were ready for their afternoon outing.

"Man, I wonder what they'll have for dinner?" the towering Ozuma mumbled as he patted his grumbling stomach.

"I think we can get some food on our own when we're in town," Ranma answered, not wanting to think about dinner just yet as it was still early afternoon. If not for the incident at the beach he was sure that they would have stopped for lunch but seeing as how everyone was repelled by the opposite gender/sex it took much too long for everyone to get on the bus and thus to the hotel.

"We're going to get the girls, right?" Kosukegawa asked as Ranma made sure that the door was locked behind them.

"Sure," Ranma replied. Yes, the opposite sex repelling incense had definitely worn off.

"Hey, you guys are headed over to get the girls, right?" Kotou asked as he, Saitou, Yamato, and the bald Sai appeared outside the door of their room.

"Mind if we come with you?" Saitou asked.

Clearly both boys just wanted an excuse to go see Hino-san. As the most fanatical of the Hino-san fanboys in their class, they naturally ended up rooming together. Still, what harm could it do? "Sure," Ranma replied.

With Saitou and Kotou in tow the group headed down the hallway.

"I hear that there's an open air bath in this place," the pigtailed boy stated.

"I just hope it makes up for the crummy rooms," Kotou grumbled.

"Yeah, if the rooms are any indication than I'm not sure how good the food is going to be," Saitou added.

"We're lucky we could afford to come to Okinawa," Kannami stated. "Though we managed to make some good money during the school festival Class B, C, and D didn't make enough to afford decent rooms. If we didn't settle for this place the entire second year class wouldn't have been able to come."

"But we made a killing during the school festival," Ozuma said.

"We made money, but not everyone did," the blond repeated. We happened to get the best rooms in the hotel. Class B, C, and D all got rooms with a view of the parking garage, we managed to get a view of the ocean at least."

"Yeah, but we had to drive through that stretch of road where we were supposed to watch out for stray bullets," Saitou countered.

"We're close to the American base," the genius explained. "They do a lot of training exercises so it's just a warning for us to watch out for ourselves if we hear any gunfire."

Ranma shrugged. He'd slept in worse conditions and, well, bullets weren't too much of an issue for him.

Turning the corner he spotted the object of many of his classmates' affection as the distinct and instantly recognizable red hair caught his keen eye.

"Hey Izuru," he said casually as the door that she was standing before opened.

Though the Hino-san fanboys weren't on a first name basis with the petit redhead, they instantly rushed to the front of the small group as both boys sought to greet their crush. Thinking only of the beautiful redhead, they pushed Kosukegawa towards the front with them in their haste as they rushed the open door.

Ranma didn't flinch even as he saw the slightly compromising situation that Motoko was in as she was sandwiched between Rei (topless) and Yamatou (in only her panties). Clearly the girls weren't ready to go out for the afternoon.

Behind him Kosukegawa, Kotou, Sai, Saitou, and Yamato suddenly flew backwards as Ranma quickly swept their feet out from under them and pulled the door close. Hopefully he'd managed to save the boys from bloody noses and the girls from embarrassing themselves with the things that they did behind closed doors.

* * * * *

"They normally look so heavy," Rei stated as she settled into the hot water of the open air bath.

Osada shook her head, "Didn't you two learn from what happened in the hotel room before?"

Shrugging off their companion's chiding remarks, Rei and Yamatou stared at Motoko's breasts as they nearly floated in the hot water.

"I think that some of the boys are jealous of Kosukegawa," Yamatou remarked as she pulled her towel off and slipped into the hot water. "Lots of guys were eyeing you after the whole thing at the beach."

"Not to mention how Yamato and the others were looking at you on the bus this afternoon," Rei added. Though she'd been topless at the time, the athletic girl had been standing behind the bustier girl when the boys had appeared in the open doorway as they chased after Hino-san.

"You just wish that Ranma had got a good view of your wares," Osada teased as she splashed her roommate and friend.

Glad to have the attention and talk deflected from her, Motoko smiled even as she nodded at the basketball and volleyball player.

"You and Hino-san spend a lot of time with him," Yamatou said with a sigh as she looked up at the star filled sky. "What's he like when he's not at school?"

Despite the warm waters Motoko shivered. "He's a relentless sensei," she mumbled.

The other girls looked at her skeptically.

"My fathers are all exceptional martial artists, but their training isn't anywhere nearly as brutal as Ranma's," the timid girl replied honestly.

"But he's only teaching you Tai Chi," Osada interjected.

"He started with that, but he's built something that looks like the obstacle course from Ninja Warrior except its much worse," the busty girl shuddered.

"That's what that thing was for," Osada replied absently. "But I never see Ranma using it."

"Oh, Ranma wouldn't use it," Hino explained as she approached the foursome. "Well, he does, but only when showing us how the challenges work. We use it whenever he's not around or doesn't have anything new for us to work on. It's designed to test our strength, balance, endurance and speed."

"But I've never seen Ozuma on it," the athletic Osada replied.

"He still hasn't gotten past the first obstacle," Hino stated. "Though neither has Kosukegawa."

* * * * *

On the other side of the wall Kosukegawa and Ozuma sneezed.

"I guess someone's talking about you two," Yamato sighed.

"I wish Hino-san would talk about me," Saitou grumbled as he shot a look at the muscled and toned body of the master martial artist.

"She's my student, and they're talking about my dojo," the pigtailed boy shrugged. "It's not like I'd date either of them – that'd just mess up our relationship as sensei and student."

"So you don't think Hino or Motoko are hot?" Kotou asked.

"Well, they're pretty, but they're my students first," Ranma replied.

Having dealt with perverts at his old high school, Ranma recognized the look on Kotou, Yamato, Saitou, and Sai's eyes. Clearly they had caught enough of what was going on in the girls' room before, or they were slowly adding things to fill in that picture.

"Your sister's pretty hot too," Kannami teased.

Ranma simply knocked the blond down.

"She's like a bustier Hino-san," Ozuma added.

* * * * *

Somewhere in Okinawa a busty redhead sneezed.

"You alright Ranma?" the girl's companion asked.

"Don't call me Ranma," the redhead replied as she smacked her bandana wearing companion lightly. "I'm Ranko. Geeze, I know you're kinda dense sometimes, but get it straight Ryoga."

"Sorry," the bandana wearing youth replied sheepishly. "I can't believe that you actually had the cure but split yourself with the water of Drowned Twins, and that you allowed yourself to stay locked in your girl form."

Ranko tripped her companion even as she shook her head. "It's a sacrifice I've decided to make for my student," she mumbled. Though she had accepted the consequences of her decision, Ranko was still slightly bitter that she was the one who was a girl.

"Anyways, make sure that you and Taro are in position tomorrow," the redhead snapped. She did so hate being reminded of the alternative. Maybe she'd have Ranma use the special shampoo on her to alter her memories of ever being a guy. Still, she, and Ranma, knew not to use anything on Motoko or the others without testing it on him/herself first. Yes, the water of Drowned Twin had worked, but would it work for on Motoko and HiFuMi? Still, before they could do that, they needed to see if Motoko really was the dominant persona or just the host. Hopefully Kannami was right and having each of the persona's merge with Zero would answer that question for them. But to do that, well, she and Ranma needed the help of the other young masters of Anything Goes Martial Arts.

"I will," Ryoga grumbled as he snatched the kettle from Ranko.

"I'll make sure he's there," another voice said as the figure emerged from the brush.

"Good," Ranko replied. "Oh, make sure to stay off the army base, those American's have been busy lately."

Both of the young men nodded.

"Why'd you need him if you had Kuno?" Ryoga asked as he eyed the other boy.

"Ryu will do anything to unseal his techniques and for his own dojo, but you, well, I know you hate fighting girls," Ranko explained.

"Hey, I beat up on you enough," the fanged boy growled.

"Yeah, but you used to be a guy half the time," Ryu smirked. "I'll hit them when I need too, and since she's a martial artist I won't hesitate to treat her like one."

Ranko nodded. "You're there to make sure that he doesn't take it too far," the redhead said as she patted her former rival's shoulder. "Besides, it's not like those techniques are going to be completely unsealed, he just can't use it indiscriminately and he can't teach anyone those techniques."

Ryu nodded. That little concession was enough considering that he'd be allowed to use both of the techniques. Yes, he'd be a master of those techniques and wouldn't be able to teach them without Ranma or Happosai's permission, but he had already developed other techniques that were based off of the sealed techniques. Those he could teach.

"They should be here tomorrow," Ranko said as she pulled out a map. "Taro is going to meet you there, make sure that Izuru and the others don't interfere. And don't rough up Kosukegawa too much."

* * * * *

The familiar feel of his cell phone vibrating told the pigtailed martial artist that he had a message. Checking it he nodded before punching in a response.

"Who's that?" Saitou asked as he took his shirt off.

"My sister," the pigtailed boy replied.

"Why isn't she going to school with you?" Yamato asked as he poked his head out of the bathroom.

"She's taking time to work on establishing the dojo first," Kannami replied coolly. "But she said she'd be in Okinawa while we're here. She just needed to take care of some of the other students before she met up with us."

Kosukegawa couldn't help but eye Ranma. Though he'd seen many extraordinary things since he'd met Motoko, Ranma still took the cake. If he hadn't seen it for himself the runty boy wouldn't have believed it. Hell, Motoko's condition was believable, if somewhat extreme. But magical curses that changed you into whatever happened to have drowned in that spring? That… well, that definitely needed to be seen to be believed.

"Yeah, she didn't want to be left behind, especially since we came to Okinawa," Ranma added as he untied his pigtail. Checking his reflection he shrugged before tying it back up. "She's taking the redeye. She just texted to say that she's boarded her flight."

For his part Ranma and Kannami had hidden the fact that Ranma and Ranko had technically been split. It was their fail safe plan, though in truth it was more because Ranma felt that each of the separate personas deserved a chance to live out their lives as he firmly believed that they each were their own person. If not for the fact that Ranma really did detest his cursed form, and had been willing to subject him… no, herself to forever live as a Ranko, Kannami wouldn't have agreed to the outrageous and very unbelievable back up plan.

As smart and intelligent as he was, even Kannami couldn't understand Ranma. Not only was he willing to overlook the transgressions by his rivals turned friends (Ryoga, Ryu, Taro, Konatsu, and even Mousse) he was willing to help them achieve their own goals and find their happiness (so long as it didn't require Ranma being killed). And even with a cure in sight, Ranma was willing to lock himself as Ranko just to prove how adamant he was about his convictions and beliefs.

But Ranma wasn't always forgiving. No, Cologne was a prime example of how cold and calculating the pigtailed martial artist could be. Turning the old Amazon into a baby and trapping her in that form was perhaps excessively cruel, but given Ranma's history with the old woman there was no other way of taking her out of the equation without killing her.

Settling in for the night, Kannami slipped under the covers. Like Ranma, this was the blonde's first school trip. It was also the first time he had ever shared a room with others his age as he was not only an only child, but was from a fairly well to do family (well, there were those few times he had security in his room, but they weren't his age).

Even as his body rested, the blond genius' mind continued to race, though it slowed as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Had Kannami been awake he would have heard Ranma open the door to their room so that their teacher could check up on them during his patrols. He also would have heard the first patrol, and Ozuma and Kosukegawa snoring.

With the door to their room wide open and each of the boys gently sleeping, no one heard the nearly silent steps from one busty and energetic Hibiki as she snuck into the boys' room. Seeing the pleasantly dreaming face of an unconscious Kosukegawa Hibiki wondered if she should wake him.

Crouching down she smiled as she gently poked his forehead, waking him suddenly as he snorted in surprise.

"Mo… Hibiki?" he exclaimed, clearly surprised by the girl's audacity. "I thought you weren't supposed to come out?"

"Well, Fujiko already came out at the beach," the aggressive girl smiled innocently.

Rolling onto his stomach so that he could better see her, Kosukegawa realized that he was face level with her exposed panties. Though the darkness wouldn't allow him to make out the exact color, he could tell that they were either a pinkish. Fortunately the darkness and his grogginess kept Hibiki from seeing the reddish tint that his face had become.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" he asked as he pried his eyes away from her panties and up to Hibiki's eyes.

"Fujiko and Motoko wanted me to check up on you," she replied as though she were waiting for him to ask that question. "You took a nasty hit at the beach and you were acting weird while shopping with Motoko," she elaborated.

"Hehehe," the runty boy chuckled nervously. Seeing your girlfriend half naked and being groped does that to you I guess… "Sorry, there was a lot happening, that's all."

Nodding, Hibiki wrapped her arms around her ample breasts, completely ignorant of the fact that she was flashing her panties to the nervous and very horny boy.

"Hehe, meeting like this is kinda exciting," Hibiki teased.

"This is no time to be joking around," Kosukegawa hissed. "If someone catches you here Motoko-chan won't be allowed to go back to school!"

"Well, we can't have that," the suddenly serious girl conceded. "To beat Zero we need to live a completely normal life. Besides, I kinda like that school."

"R-really?"

Before either one of them could say anything the distinct sound of someone walking down the hall ended the conversation.

"Hide," Hideo urged Hibiki.

"Where?" she pleaded.

Looking around, Hideo Kosukegawa pulled his covers up.

Following his lead, Hibiki slipped in.

As their room was at the end of the hallway and opposite of the one occupied by Sai, Saitou, Kotou, and Yamato, it was a long, lonely walk for their teacher as he made his rounds.

But it wasn't the clean cut and handsome teacher that entered their room.

"We shouldn't be here," the distinctly familiar voice of Botan Tsukishima whispered to her companion.

"Oh give it up," another female voice hissed. "We're already here and we haven't been caught."

"You really are obsessed with Saotome," Botan sighed.

"Quiet," the other girl urged, "we don't want to wake anyone else up. Besides, he likes it when you use his given name. I just want to have some fun with Ranma."

"Sora," the tall girl hissed, "I'm leaving."

"Go ahead spoil sport."

The soft footsteps of the tall girl quickly faded, proof that she had left her friend behind.

"Aw, you look so handsome like this Ran-ma," Sora sighed as she crouched at the head of Ranma's futon.

Sighing, Ranma opened his eye. "You know, you're kinda psycho," he stated as he eyed the scantily clad girl before him. At least she's not using poison or crawling into my bed naked, he mused. "Why are you here?"

"For you of course," the temptress teased as she lowered her face so that her short hair was brushing against Ranma's face. "I always knew you were a stud, but seeing you put me in my place at the beach…"

Ranma blinked. I knew this was bound to happen.

"Sora's got a thing for Ranma?" Hibiki whispered to Hideo.

Unfortunately for the runty boy he couldn't think past the fact that Hibiki's breasts were pressed against his bare chest. Even through the light cotton robe it was clear that she was braless. And then there was the smooth, soft feel of her bare legs against his. _That feels sooo nice_….

"Sora!" Botan's urgent whisper proceeded her as she slipped back into the room. "You've got maybe three minutes before Minato-sensei gets here! He's on his way down the hall right now!"

"Damn," Sora cursed. "Can I hide with you?" she teased.

"Sorry," the pigtailed boy replied, pushing the girl away. "Try the balcony."

Botan nodded, rushing to the balcony and opening it for herself and Sora.

Clearly unhappy with having to cut her visit short Sora sighed as she rushed out to the balcony.

Shaking his head, Ranma quickly rushed to the balcony door and closed the curtain. Making it back to his futon the pigtailed boy contemplated going back to bed just as a shadow appeared in the hallway.

"Ranma? What are you doing out of bed?"

Ranma blinked at the distinctly female voice. It definitely didn't sound like Minato-sensei or even one of the female teachers.

"Rei? What are you doing here?"

"Motoko's missing, so I figured that she was visiting Kosukegawa," the karate-ka and captain of the basketball and volleyball teams replied. "Why are you out of bed?"

"I was about to go to the bathroom," he lied. Though he knew that Motoko/Hibiki was in the futon with Hideo, the master martial artist didn't want to rat out his students. "You better get in here," he said quickly. "I think I hear Minato-sensei coming."

Hesitantly the karate-ka and all around sports star of the second year students followed Ranma into the bathroom. The cramped confines of the bathroom (which housed an actual toilet, sink and mirror) barely fit the two athletic teens, making Ranma wonder just how the towering Ozuma had fit in the room.

_Good thing I didn't send Sora and Botan in here_.

"Um, it's a bit cramped," Rei stated as she brushed up against Ranma.

Wearing only a light robe (and it clung to her nearly as well as it did for Hibiki) the tall girl kept pulling at the hem of her robe, unconsciously bringing Ranma's attention to the just too short robe. Fortunately for her she was wearing shorts underneath, thus avoiding flashing Ranma or anyone she walked past.

_That's why Botan was wearing shorts_, Ranma mused. _But Sora wasn't_…

"What do we do?" Rei whispered as she pressed her back against the wall so that she wasn't pressing her B-cups against Ranma's chest.

"Um," the slightly distracted Ranma replied, stalling as he thought of somewhere to hide her as Minato-sensei was sure to check the bathroom if he found Ranma awake, "up there."

Pointing to the vent he reached out and put his hands on opposite walls, then put his feet against the walls and slowly spider-climbed up until he reached the vent. Using his fingernail to unscrew the cover he quickly lifted it and peaked inside. "You should fit," he said as he slide down the wall.

Skeptically Rei eyed the pigtailed boy. After briefly hesitating she nodded. Stepping onto the toilet then onto his shoulder, she lifted herself up to the air duct.

"Just spread your weight," Ranma cautioned as she crawled into the opening. Once she was completely inside he replaced the cover.

"Ranma?" the distinct voice of Minato-sensei called out from the room.

Flushing the toilet, Ranma opened the door. "Sir, still on patrol?"

The older man blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the bright lights from the bathroom. "Yeah," he shrugged. "I know you wouldn't try sneaking a girl into your room, and Hino-san wouldn't sneak into their room," he pointed towards the hallway where Kotou, Sai, Saitou, and Yamato slept, "but I know Motoko and Osada are dating Kosukegawa and Osada, so I just had to check."

Ranma nodded. Though he was seen as an oddity at times, he often followed the rules at school (except when it came to the dress code).

"Um, Ranma," the spiky haired man said.

"Yeah?"

"You're, um, flying low," the older man said as his eyes darted down then away. "Night."

"Night," the pigtailed boy replied before readjusting his boxers. Blinking, he buttoned his fly.

Up in the air duct Rei couldn't help but blush. Ranma's exposed crotch had been at face level with her when he'd shimmied up the bathroom.

Waiting for Minato-sensei's steps to fade, Ranma rushed to the bathroom and helped the dirty Rei down. Pulling her long, tone legs out of the opening, he supported her as she extracted herself from her hiding spot. Slowly, he lowered them down to the floor.

"Here," he said, grabbing his unused robe from the wall and handing it to the now dirty girl. Turning around he quickly exited the bathroom to give her some privacy. Seeing the bulge in Hideo's bed, the martial artist walked over, letting Hibiki hear his steps. "You'd better go too."

Quickly, Hibiki pulled herself out from beneath the blanket, a wicked smile on her lips. Nodding, she quickly made her way out of the room. A fraction of a second later Rei emerged in Ranma's clean robe.

"I should get going," the athletic girl said with a slight bow. "Thanks you."

Scratching his head, Ranma nodded as he accepted her thanks.

Waiting for Rei to depart, Ranma rushed to the balcony. "You guys should go back to your room," he suggested to the shivering girls. Nodding, they both quickly entered the bedroom and let Ranma close the door and readjust the curtain.

"Thank you," Botan said as she grabbed Sora's wrist.

With one hand still free, Sora waved playfully and silently as she followed the taller girl.

Once he was sure they were gone, Ranma sighed. Glancing at the alarm clock he slipped back into his futon.

"This must have happened all the time for you," Kannami teased. "You did have four fiancées back in Nerima, right?"

Hideo blinked.

"What?" Ozuma exclaimed, rolling over and looking at Ranma.

"This was nothing," Ranma stated as he looked at the taller boy. "The first was an arranged marriage between my old man and his best friend. They wanted me to marry one of his daughters and re-unite the schools. The second was another arranged marriage that my old man reneged on, but she didn't see it that way. To restore her honor she had to marry me. The third was an Amazon from China. Tribal law requires that an Amazon marries any man that beats her in combat."

"What about the fourth?" Kosukegawa asked.

"She wasn't a fiancée," the pigtailed boy replied. "She was just crazy and wanted me to date her."

"So you had these four girls chasing after you?" Ozuma asked.

"Yeah."

"Where they cute?" the tall boy asked.

"Yeah."

"Did you get anywhere with them? You know, hit a home run?"

Kosukegawa blushed at Ozuma's teasing.

"No," Ranma replied. "Though technically I've seen reached third base with two of them and second base with one; I got close to first base with the psycho though."

The inexperienced boys blinked. "Damn," Ozuma exclaimed. "When… how?"

"The first fiancée walked in on me when I was taking a bath so we ended up seeing each other completely naked. The Amazon kept sneaking into my bed, sometimes naked, sometimes wearing clothes. The second fiancée I kinda groped when we were fighting. I never did any of those things intentionally," he explained.

"Sure," Kannami replied slyly. "We believe you."

* * * * *

A/N

I hope you all enjoyed that.

Yes, there are technically two Ranmas out there – Ranma and Ranko. No, Kosukegawa, Hino, and Motoko/HiFuMi don't know what he's done.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Notes –

Yes, I'm back. I know, it's been a while since I updated this fic. Still trying to figure out how the latest Change 123 chapter is going to affect this fic or if I shouldn't bother sticking to it since this is a cross-over fic. Yes, working with Ranma just throws everything off, but hey, this is a cross-over, expect changes. Namely, expect Sensei!Ranma – yes, he's more mature than the typical Ranma, but he's taking being a sensei to others seriously.

* * * * *

The balmy ocean breeze was a nice change of pace from the significantly cooler spring weather of Nerima and Tokyo. Still, Ranko couldn't help but feel the need to wear a light shirt over her one piece bathing suit as she waited for her 'brother' and his companions. It wasn't the sunny weather that bothered her despite her fair skin, or the mild temperatures; no it was the perverted older men who were trying to hit on her.

The hard up military men from the American base not too far from the beach were really obnoxious and annoying. It didn't help that she was alone and that the men that approached her were approaching her in groups of two or three. Unlike the polite males in Nerima (but not Tokyo because some of the guys there were just creepy) the American soldiers were very instant and equated the exchange of goods, i.e. purchasing a treat, as an agreement for sex.

Fortunately for her she knew how to deal with them, and it was early, so there weren't many American soldiers around as only a few handfuls of them were on leave at the time. Still, it was enough to be bothersome, especially since she was working on a half empty stomach. The handful of sunflower seeds in her hand was quickly dwindling as she sought to sate her hunger and shut up the annoying men that approached her.

"Hey baby," the tall blond started as he waved at her only to stop and clutch his throat as a seed shot into his open mouth.

_Ten for ten_, Ranko mused as the soldier and his companions stopped as he started choking. Walking away the busty redhead tried to hide a smirk as she popped another seed into her mouth.

* * * * *

"You know," Saito said as he took a seat behind Ranma and Kannami, "I never see you and your sister together."

"Yeah," Kotou interjected as he sat beside his friend.

Ranma shrugged even as Kosukegawa and Motoko glanced at him as they sat together.

"She's not even at the dojo that much," Yamato added as he took a seat beside Sai.

"When's the last time you stopped at the dojo?" Osada asked as she turned around to look at the group while sitting beside Ozuma.

"Well, we stop by sometimes after our clubs let out," the slightly abashed Saito admitted.

_Yeah, to check out how Hino is doing_, Kosukegawa thought as he tried to stay out of the conversation.

"She's usually in during the mornings and day when we're all at school," Ranma replied. "She's the owner but I'm the one that takes care of the classes and lessons."

Settling into his seat, Ranma listened to the idle chatter even as he focused on what was important.

"You're sure they're going to show up?" Kannami asked in flawless Mandarin.

"I'm sure she will keep them on task," Ranma replied in slightly broken Mandarin.

"What are you two talking about?" Kosukegawa asked as he eyed the two geniuses.

"Yeah," Saito seconded. "What's with you two switching to Chinese all the time?"

"Egghead here wants me to practice my Chinese," Ranma answered. Though it was partially true, there was just enough truth combined with his innate acting ability to make it believable enough for the others to believe. "He wants me to actually apply for college and go to one of those cram schools."

"That's a good idea," Hino chimed in. "A solid education will take you further than just relying on your physical attributes."

"I've got enough on my plate with just the dojo," the pigtailed martial artist replied.

"Yeah, but you've only got like a handful of students," Osada teased. "If you want your dojo to be successful you'll need to market it and everything."

Ranma sighed. He'd had this conversation too many times recently. For the remainder of the half hour drive he valiantly tried to redirect the conversation though to no avail. Fortunately the pigtailed boy had learned some measure of patience, well, enough to keep his temper for the short ride. It didn't help that some of the chaperone-teachers had also chimed in.

"You could go into teaching, like P.E.," Ozuma suggested. "Then you could also instruct in the dojo afterward school."

"We're here," Mr. Takahata declared as the bus slowly came to a complete stop.

Free of the college and future talk as the other students now focused on the warm, inviting beach and the busty redhead waiting for them, Ranma knew that he'd have little time to go from one topic to the other.

"Damn, she's hot," someone exclaimed.

"You know, I can see the resemblance," someone else added.

"I know; they both like pigtails."

"Isn't that more of a ponytail?"

"His looks like a rattail actually."

"No, it's braided. That makes it a pigtail."

Ignoring the idol chatter Ranma stole a glance at Kosukegawa, Motoko, and Izuru. Of all the students only they, and Kannami, had seen his curse. But only the former three had not known about Ranma's semi-cure. The slight shock on their faces told him that they clearly did not expect to see Ranma and Ranko together separately.

Shrugging as their eyes slowly went from his 'sister' to him, he gave them the look telling them that he'd talk about it later. Unfortunately they seemed to take the look he gave them more as 'I am a martial arts god, don't question me'.

And then there were those like Sora who took the somewhat smug look on Ranma's face as 'yeah, the good looking gene is in my family'.

Ever used to people envying him/her for his/her looks Ranma and Ranko simply ignored the dark looks as well as the ones of admiration and of budding attraction.

"So, since she's not officially a student yet," Mr. Takahata said as he stepped to the front of the bus and addressed the bus full of students, "Ranko Saotome has agreed to follow the rules set up for this trip. She'll be staying in her own hotel room with her own companions but she's agreed to meet up with us so that she can spend some time with her brother and his friends. Please treat her as a though she were just another classmate."

Using 'Ranko' as a distraction Ranma pulled Kosukegawa, Motoko, and Hino away from the others students.

"I know you guys are wondering what's going on," the young master martial artist said as he made sure that no one else could overhear them. "There's a spring of drowned twin, it creates a magical clone of whoever falls into it. I used that on myself and then locked my curse on 'Ranko' and me to lock us in our current states."

"Wh-why?" Hideo asked.

A quick glance at Motoko was all the answer he needed as the others followed his eyes.

"If we can't cure you," he said as he put his hand on Motoko's shoulder, "we'll give them their own bodies. But we need to try and get them all to merge with Zero first and see if that will do the trick first.

"I know it's a lot to consider, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before about this, but you have to trust me. Sometimes a Master makes the pupil do things they don't want to do or don't think they are ready for."

* * * * *

Had Fujiko been in control of Motoko's body she would have trembled. Not at Ranma's announcement that he was planning to give the three personas their own bodies, but that he was planning to push each of them to the brink of fusing with Zero. Looking back at the events of the prior day the intelligent persona couldn't help but wonder if Ranma had somehow orchestrated the whole incident. But how would Ranma have anticipated that she would have been the one to appear? True, each persona came out when a situation demanded that their particular skill or specialization, but Hibiki was just as likely to come out as she was.

_Actually, no_, Hibiki interjected. _True, I'm a striker and aggressive fighter, but you're the weapons expert_.

_You are in your element when you've got a weapon_, Mikiri added.

_Just be careful if you have to take over for Motoko_, the sharpshooter advised.

* * * * *

The tropic breeze and warm, salty ocean water felt refreshing to the dozens of students as they waded through the surf. Despite the number of male students that approached her confessing their feelings for her, Izuru Hino couldn't help but steal glances at Ranma and Ranko. Though she understood why Ranma had kept his secret from them, the petit redhead couldn't help but feel a bit put out by the fact that he hadn't trusted her until the truth was finally out.

Unfortunately she couldn't focus on Ranma and his secrets, not with over half of the boys on the trip trying to profess their love for her.

"I'm sorry," she said softly yet firmly as she smiled at Saito. "I'm a late bloomer, I don't think that I'm ready for a relationship like that."

"I-I understand," the tall boy replied as he bowed to her.

"We can still be friends, right?"

"Of course!" Saito exclaimed.

Watching him wander off towards his friends, the petit redhead couldn't help but think that that rejection had gone better than some of the others. A few of the boys had thought that perhaps she and Kosukegawa were a secret item, or that she and Ranma were as well. Only her pleasant smile and reassurance had kept them from disbelieving her as none of them dared to call her a liar.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she did feel something for the mysterious Ranma.

* * * * *

Despite her best efforts to reign in HiFuMi, Motoko couldn't help but allow Mikiri out once she'd caught the familiar scent of vanilla ice cream. An entire morning of frolicking in the surf and a light lunch was not enough to sustain her, and as tired as she was it wasn't hard for the playful Mikiri to take control once she caught the scent of the ice cream.

"Ohh!" the bubbly girl exclaimed, licking her tongue as she eyed the multiple gallons of sweet ice cream.

_Something's not right_. Instantly alert to any possible attacks, Fujiko tried to fight for control of Motoko's body, only to have the single-minded Mikiri override her. Having exhausted herself the other day after fusing with Zero, and considering how badly Mikiri wanted the ice cream she reluctantly conceded. Hopefully Mikiri could handle the situation on her own.

Not bothering to find a spoon, Mikiri sauntered over to the stacks of ice cream.

"Hands off!" someone shouted roughly, alerting the busty girl to the fact that she wasn't alone. "That's not yours!"

"But there's so much," Mikiri said as she drooled. "Can't we share?"

Had see been paying attention Mikiri would have noticed the three powerful fighters now surrounding her and the piles of ice cream.

"This one's yours," one of the boys said as he quickly glanced at the oldest of the group.

"You're sure?" the boy with the yellow bandana asked. "How can you tell?"

"Trust me, she's Taro's," the first boy reiterated.

The third young man nodded, kicking sand onto the open containers of ice cream.

"NOO!" the busty young girl cried as the frozen sweets were desecrated. Reflexively she moved to save the ice cream, only to have the oldest, vile ice cream wrecker move to intervene. Grabbing hold of his shirt she used her momentum to throw him out of her way, or at least that's what she tried to do. She was surprised when he didn't budge and his shirt didn't rip. She was sure that she'd applied enough force to at least rip his shirt.

Grabbing hold of the busty girl's shoulders Taro slammed his head into hers, knocking her out instantly. Dropping her he glanced at his companions. "I guess I hit her too hard."

"I guess Ranma's wrong," the first boy stated. "But it is pretty hard to get little kids angry."

"So, what do we do now?" the second boy asked.

"We call Ranma and have him pick her up," Taro stated. "It looks like we get some free time until Ranma thinks up another brilliant plan for us."

* * * * *

Pulling out his cell phone Ranma frowned. He thought he'd had a good plan on getting Mikiri to merge with Zero, but apparently not. Maybe she was a bit too childish to get that upset about someone wrecking ice cream. At least now he knew better and could factor that in for the next time.

Still, he was at the beach, he might as well try and enjoy his time here.

"Saotome," a now familiar voice called out as he put his cell phone away.

"Sora," he returned as he looked up at the athletic girl. "I guess you're here to officially challenge me."

The smile on her face was all he needed, though he really didn't understand the true intent of her smile. Leading her away from prying eyes he brought her to a semi-secluded clearing just out of sight of everyone else on the island. As a master of Anything Goes Martial Arts he knew he was supposed to be ready for any attack at any time, but it wasn't an attack that surprised him, well, not in the typical sense of the word at least.

With her arms wide Sora grabbed hold of him, wrapping her arms around him as she sought to kiss him. It was more frightening than any attack he could think of.

Instinct demanded that he try and flee rather than simply kick her in the face. Curling back his leg he sought to turn around and run. The moment of hesitation cost him though as the speedy Sora was able to grab hold of him, well, not him, but his shorts. Momentum was not Ranma's ally today as Sora's lunge propelled her forward and down even as the pigtailed boy fell back. Years of practice had honed his body to react without thinking, as such his back arched back as he rolled so that he'd end up on top.

Startled by his reaction Sora yelped even as she flew over his head and then landed in the sand. Slightly dazed by the impact against the hard, compact sand and of Ranma landing on top of her it took her a moment to realize just what was dangling before her.

"Ranma!" someone shouted.

"Sora!"

Quickly pulling up his swim trunks Ranma hoped that no one got a good view of, well, anything.

"What's going on?" Takahashi-sensei, the biology teacher, asked as he rushed over to them.

"We were just sparring," Ranma quickly replied. At least the teacher had allowed him to answer rather than just jumping to the wrong conclusions or assumptions.

"That does make sense," Natsumi-sensei, the history teacher, interjected. "Sora probably exclaimed when Ranma countered her lunge."

"You saw them fighting?" the spiky haired biology teacher asked the female history teacher. "So they're not here, you know..?"

"They were sparring," Natsumi-sensei replied.

"Well," the older teacher said, "just so you and everyone else understand, there is to be no fighting on this outing. This is not the time or place for you to be fighting, even if it is sparring."

"Yes, sir," Ranma quickly replied as he stood up and moved away from his opponent.

"Yeah," Sora replied as she sat up.

Watching as the two teachers left, each heading in an opposite direction, Ranma noted the sharp look that Natsumi-sensei had given Sora. She was one of the new teachers, could she have been sent there to investigate him? Watching the way she walked away he couldn't help but notice that she did move like a fighter, though he wasn't sure which style she used just by the way she walked in the sand.

"So you like older women?" Sora teased as she moved towards him once again.

"N-no," he stuttered. "What makes you think that?"

"So you're just looking at her butt and legs because you're trying to see how she moves?"

"Yeah," he replied as he noted how Sora's eyes were glued to his.

"Can you tell what style I use when I walk?" she teased as she turned around and walked away, her head turned back towards him as she kept her eyes on him.

Ranma gulped. This was not going well. "No," he answered. "You're not walking naturally."

"Oh?" she teased as she shook her rather cute but at him. It didn't help that she was wearing a bikini that clung to her shapely ass and legs. "I see that you like what you see."

Following her glance he looked down. _No, not now_, he mentally chided himself. Forcing himself to, well, stand down, he took a deep, calming breath. "So, how many of you are there?"

Sora maintained the smile on her face, though clearly she wasn't happy that he was moving away from the subject that she wanted to discuss. "Sleep with me and I'll tell you," she teased.

Ranma paused.

"You're seriously thinking about it?!" Sora exclaimed. She wasn't sure if she should be worried or feel complemented by his delay. He was cute, and an exceptional fighter to boot. Though they were a society of illegitimate martial artists, all of them were female. Sure, the old lady wanted her grandson back in the fold, but was it because he would be a great asset in the field or in bed? With fewer and fewer qualified women stepping in to take over for the sisters that fell, the future looked bleak for them. Yes, Ranma was a strong and capable fighter, but what good could one fighter be? They couldn't deploy him on multiple missions at once, but they could use him to help replenish their depleted numbers. Sure, it would take a decade or two, but ultimately they would come back stronger.

Ranma knew better than to be caught off guard by a bold girl, hell, he'd had Shampoo and Ukyo chasing him for how long, and they were far from meek or timid. Still, something about Sora did… what was the word… excite, stir, sparked? Yes, something inside of him sparked or came to life with her. Well, that part of him definitely had been aroused, but could there be something more?

"Ranma?!" the distant sound of Kosukegawa calling out for him saved the pigtailed boy from his thoughts. "It's Ranko."

"What happened?" he asked, shoving aside all thoughts of him and Sora as he concentrated on one of his students.

"She wanted me to get you for some reason," the winded runt explained.

* * * * *

Even as Ranma was enduring his embarrassing situation with Sora and Hino was softly breaking hearts, Ranko was fending off her own hoard of admirers.

"You know, you and your brother are so alike," Osada stated as the raven haired girl sat beside her boyfriend.

"Yeah, we get that a lot," Ranko mumbled. "You guys don't have to stay here you know."

"I wouldn't want Ranma to get in trouble for you beating up any of the guys who came on too strong to you," Ozuma teased.

"Don't worry," the redhead stated. "I'll be fine, you guys go have some fun." Seeing that they were reluctant to leave her, Ranko shooed them away, "I'll be fine – go."

Reluctantly the pair headed down to the tepid ocean water. Waving at the pair as they turned back to look at her, Ranko assured them that she'd be fine under the umbrella.

"You can come out now," she stated once she was sure that no one else was around.

Despite her unusual height, the lean yet powerful Botan walked over to the shorter girl.

"Let me guess, you want to challenge me?" the redhead asked as she stood up.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Yeah," the shorter girl replied. "Where to?"

The odd pair quickly walked off, leaving the sunny beach behind as they sought some measure of privacy.

"Anytime you're ready," Ranko stated as she stood casually.

Eying the shorter girl Botan rushed in, throwing a powerful right cross feint. Ranko didn't flinch as she grabbed the taller girl's fist and twisted, forcing the other girl to roll to avoid straining her shoulder as she flew by Ranko.

The vicious kick to her exposed ribs though sent her sprawling into the grass.

"You've got the advantage of reach on me," Ranko stated, "but I'm much faster and stronger."

Botan sprang to her feet, nodding to Ranko as she considered the other fighter's advice. Clearly Ranko wasn't one to fall for any simple feints.

Adopting a basic karate stance the taller fighter slowly inched forward until she was within striking distance. Lashing out with a fierce middle kick she was surprised when Ranko not only jumped over the attack, but over her as well. Before she could complete the kick she felt Ranko's foot connect with her back as the petit girl turned her jumping flip into a rolling axe kick.

Though she knew that the other girl wasn't even close to being in her league, Ranko couldn't help but feel the need to vent some steam. She was the one who had drawn the short straw and got stuck in the cursed, female body after all. Yes, it was only temporary, but still, it irked Ranko to no end. Even though she could have ended the fight, the redhead decided to pull her punches.

Undiscouraged the taller fighter stood up. Catching her breath she rushed in again.

Answering Botan's uppercut with a stiff kick to the temple Ranma knocked Botan off of her feet once again.

Pushing herself to into a sitting position the taller girl scowled. "You're toying with me."

"Yeah," Ranko replied. "You're not in my league. I'm not even going 50% against you."

"Why?"

"The guys I spar with can shatter one ton boulders," the redhead stated. "Once you get to that level come and see me for a rematch."

"And you're training Kosukegawa, Motoko, and Hino?" Botan asked. "Well, your brother is…"

Ranko shrugged. "They're not at that level, but maybe in a few years..."

"Seriously?"

"No," Ranko smirked. "They're too old to start the rigorous training needed to get to that level. But who knows how far they'll get with Ranma training them."

Botan nodded, even as she conceded the fight. _So that was the mistress' plan for him. But what of his sister?_

* * * * *

_Nodoka had a daughter as well? _the busty school nurse asked herself as she looked at the file before her. Grateful that she was alone in her office she eyed the application form from Ranma's younger twin sister. _How did she hide that from us? She's only ever gone on about having a son, but maybe that was to keep the mistress from trying to recruit her daughter. Still, there are no records for either Ranma or Ranko. Perhaps that bastard of a husband and his training trip was more than it appears. I must report this to the mistress_.

* * * * *

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Notes –

I'm really liking Change 123 right now, though I haven't been able to work up the nerve to write too much for this fic. Sigh, that's just how it goes.

The game of 'Horse' or whatever was funny too. And the Kyoto trip is starting to get interesting.

Anyways, for those following this fic, yes, I'm finally getting into the American Base incident. "**Bold,**" is speaking in English. "_**But this,**_" is speaking in Chinese.

X X X X X

The pounding rain of the fierce and sudden tropical storm pounded on the thin wooden walls and roof of the tiny beachside cabin as dozens of students sought to make the most of their situation. Unable to return to the main island the gathered students sought to make the most of their situation. It helped that their chaperones had been forced to seek shelter with the majority of the students that had chosen to come to the island in another cabin on the other end of the beach.

"Man, I'm starved," Ozuma grumbled.

"Me too," Saito chimed in over the grumbling of his stomach.

"Well, all we got is fish," Kosukegawa stated as he fanned the fire in the fireplace. "Give me a few minutes."

"You guys should be glad that Izuru caught some fish earlier," Ranko added as she gutted a large tuna. "I didn't think that tuna came this close to shore."

"I've got some rice," Ranma stated as he mysteriously pulled out a small bag of rice.

"Where the hell did you pull that out of?" someone exclaimed.

"I always carry my traveling/camping pack with me when I leave home," Ranma replied as he measured out some rice. "I've also got some radish – anyone for some sushi and sashimi?"

X X X X X

Ralph stared at the dossier that had been sent to him. Looking over the files he wondered if this would be an adequate test for his current project. It hardly seemed fair to send such a squad after a girl, but then again, he'd put together a tougher squad to go after another girl before.

Maybe it would be worth it - after all, they really did need to be field tested, but how to set this up?

X X X X X

After a rainy night and long ride back to from the island cabin, the second year students from Saotome High were glad to be back in Okinawa. The transition from beautiful beachside resort to bustling city was a welcome change for many after the long rainy night in the small cabin. Though many of the boys had delighted in sharing a cabin with the swimsuit clad girls (some in bikinis) the presence of their teachers had kept them from truly enjoying the experience. For those teachers the long night of rotating shifts on guard duty segregating the boys from the girls and keeping them all safe had taken a toll on their reserves. Needing to rest and finally able to return to the comfortable futons of the hotel (compared to the hardwood floors of the cabin) the handful of teachers that had gone to the island had decided to allow the students to simply explore Kyoto on their own. Free of their teachers' oversight, many of the students rushed out of the hotel.

But not everyone that had gone out thought that it was a good idea. Despite his own ignorance in regards to the opposite sex and attraction, even Ranma could tell that there was some tension and hostility between his two companions, something that bothered him greatly considering that Izuru Hino was usually the picture of politeness and calm. To see the normally patient girl so worked up was a clear sign that things weren't right.

It didn't help that even the usually flirtatious and aggressive Sora Uzuki was also tense. True, she was, well, a shameless flirt (at least when she was around him) but to have both girls who were fairly talkative so, well, silent, just unnerved the young pigtailed martial artist.

It also didn't help that most of the guys in the other classes were glaring at him, each hoping or wishing ill of him. Well, Ranma was used to that actually as the guys in Furinkan often wished ill of him – though only Kuno ever acted out on it. Then again, Mousse and Ryoga weren't actually students at Furinkan but they were always ready to challenge him for either Shampoo or Akane respectively.

Yes, Ranma couldn't help but think that a stray challenger would be a good thing right about now…

"When we get back to Tokyo I want you to make me some hirayachi," Sora stated as she noted the lack of okonomiyaki restaurants. With only a few okonomiyaki restaurants in Okinawa it was unfortunate that none of them made the local variation of the popular dish. Yes, Sora clearly wanted to see if his cooking was as good as everyone had claimed it to be – though she probably also wanted to just have some of his cooking as everyone in their class had experienced it during the last school festival.

"Oh, that sounds delicious," Hino chimed in. "Hirayachi is supposed to be thinner than normal okonomiyaki. You'll have to make me some too."

"Why don't we see some of the local dojos?" Sora suggested, immediately changing the subject. "I would love to see you match your family style against a Wado Ryu _dan_."

Ranma blinked. _'It has been six years… I doubt they'd remember me… and they should have a new master by now…'_

"Nah," Ranko interjected. "It's two non-aggressive styles, it wouldn't be any fun watching them stare at each other until Ranma finally throws too many taunts and gets the rest of the dojo involved. Goju Ryu would be a more interesting match up."

Ranma glanced at his 'twin', glad to have someone on his side. The last time he'd been in Okinawa he'd captured the signs of several established dojos – and the master at the Goju Ryu was definitely the type to remember him, even if he'd only been ten at the time. The sight of a little ten year old boy beating up masters and his father claiming the dojo sign was usually something that most masters would remember.

"It's more fun to watch him match up against the Pangai-noon or Shorin-Ryu," the busty redhead smirked. "It would be a great way of expanding our dojo's reputation as well."

Ranma cringed. This was not good.

"We could put up all those dojo signs that you and pop calmed during your travels."

The raven haired boy glared at his redheaded 'twin'.

Sora smiled even as she reached out for Ranma's left hand, _'So he is that dojo destroyer.'_

Not to be out-done by her new rival, Izuru moved closer to Ranma, pressing her shoulder and arm against his as the trio followed Ranko through the wide street. With so many eyes on him, Ranma decided to go with the path of least resistance and simply walked sandwiched between the two beautiful girls.

"That lucky bastard," Saitou grumbled.

"Yeah," Kotou sighed.

"He's got two of the hottest girls in our year after him and his sister is pretty hot herself," Yamato shrugged.

"But Hino-chan said that she wasn't ready for a relationship," Saito groused.

Kotou nodded, "She said that to me too."

The tallest of the trio nodded as well, "I think she said that to everyone."

"I guess things changed when Sora-san came into the picture," Osada interjected.

Trying to keep himself out of his friends' misery, Ozuma simply shrugged as the three boys looked up at him.

"I think something happened yesterday between Ranma and Sora-san, and I think Hino-san picked up on that," the petit girl explained. Glancing at the only other girl around, she smiled at Motoko.

Completely caught off guard, the busty Motoko simply nodded.

"So where are you guys headed?" Ozuma asked, trying to change the subject.

Kotou shrugged, "Check out the sights I guess."

"What about you guys?" Saitou asked his fellow judo practitioner. "We need a fourth."

"The girls want to go shopping," Ozuma replied as he eyed the group of girls ahead of them.

The three boys nodded. The two couples were clearly enough to meet the minimum requirement even though there weren't many teachers around to actually enforce that rule. But the addition of several other girls accompanying their group was tempting. Still…

"We'll find a fourth," Yamato said quickly as he lead the other boys away from the two doomed men. Yes, a day of shopping with girls was just… well, too much for the three of them to handle.

X X X X X

"That's our mark?" the dark-skinned man smirked. "Too easy."

His taller, half-Japanese companion simply glanced at him, "Not really. See how the kid moves so fluidly? And the girls with her are pretty graceful themselves. Remember the dossier? The guy with them supposed to be a dan level at least."

"But we're allowed to use anything to take her down," the first man countered.

"In close combat, no sniping."

The first man scowled.

"We stick to the plan," the second man stated. Pulling out the pre-paid cell phone he quickly snapped a picture of the busty Japanese girl, then the runt accompanying him. "We use the runt to get to our mark and draw him out. As tempting as it is, we don't want Chou to do anything stupid – and with a girl like that you know he's going to do something stupid."

X X X X X

"I'm really starting to hate Okinawa," Ranko grumbled as she purposefully strode past a group of American soldiers. "The American soldiers here are much worse than the ones in Nerima."

Though he never paid much attention to it before, Ranma knew that his 'twin' was starting to see the world in a new light. During his brief stints in his female form he'd always focused on turning back and never got past the stigma of just being a girl, but seeing the world through a feminine perspective like Ranko was now doing, or even from his perspective as he watched her endure the very aggressive American soldiers, the pigtailed boy was starting to wonder if perhaps his reputation as well as the reputations of the other high level martial artists in Nerima had scared those troops and kept them in line. But with no one like that in Okinawa the troops here were essentially a different breed. It didn't help that there was significantly more American troops in Okinawa than in Nerima. There was also the fact that there was a long history of incidents and crimes committed by the Americans against the Japanese in Okinawa.

"Don't say that babe," a tall blond said his American English accent thick as he spoke Japanese. "I'll treat you like a real lady the way a real man should."

"**Leave it be**," Ranma said in clear English. Having spent enough time around a few American soldiers, the pigtailed boy knew what to say to get his point across. Hopefully he wouldn't have to get physical though.

"**Sorry man**," the American replied with a curt bow, holding up his hand and waving off the rest of his buddies. The presence of a rare outspoken Japanese male, despite his youth, was enough to deter the soldiers from making any more unwanted advances.

The quartet of students turned the corner, leaving behind the pack of American Soldiers. The nearly desolate street stood in stark contrast to the bustling and active street that they had just exited despite the fact that there were just as many shops and businesses on this street as there were on the other. Looking up at the signs it was clear that the businesses here were catering to a different crowd than the other street. The handful of love hotels and the number of bars that lined the street indicated that the street saw a lot of action at night rather than during the day. In a few hours the business from the front street would pour over onto this side street.

Not wanting to linger longer than necessary, Ranko lead Ranma, Hino, and Sora down the street. "Hey, I think that was Hideo and Ozuma," the perky redhead stated as she rushed ahead.

"Oh," Sora pouted, "I wanted to stop in here" she pointed to a love hotel on the right.

Ranma felt a chill run down his spine.

"I'm sure Ranma could use a rest after that last dojo," she teased.

"I don't think so," Hino interjected. "Having trained with him I know that he has the strength and endurance to spare after that light spar."

With both girls gripping a hand, Ranma could only gulp as he tried to lead the girls after his 'sister'.

"Ranko-san!" a familiar voice shouted, filling the nearly vacant street with an urgent cry.

The busty redhead blinked as she took in the raven haired girl, "Osada? What are you doing here?"

"Ozuma's fighting some Chinese soldier," the exasperated girl stated.

Instinctively Ranma slipped his hands out from the grasp of his two companions before dashing over to join Ranko and Osada.

"What happened?" Ranma demanded as he reached the other pair of girls.

Both Hino and Sora gasped as they watched Ranma cover the nearly ten meter distance in a flash. Setting aside their rivalry, the two girls tried to follow after Ranma and Ranko.

"There was a pair of Chinese guys and some Japanese and Koreans as well," the frantic girl replied. "But this one guy, a Chinese soldier I think, he was trying to hit on me and then groped me. Ozuma tried to make him apologize and then the guy pulled out a knife. Ozuma told me to call the police and run. I called, but I haven't seen anyone yet."

"Where were they?" Ranko asked as she put her hands on the other girl's shoulders, trying to calm the visibly shaken girl.

"That way," she pointed west, "two, no, three blocks, take a right and then they're two blocks down in an alley."

Ranma immediately dashed off, following the directions that Osada provided him.

"Stay with her," Ranko ordered Hino and Sora as the other girls finally caught up to her. A knowing glance from the smaller redhead kept them from objecting to her order. Though both were exceptional fighters, it was clear that Osada needed someone to comfort and support her – something that Ranko clearly lacked the tact and finesse needed.

'_Soldiers… I hope Osada remembers my second lesson_,' Ranma thought as he approached the first corner. Running all out he knew better than to slow down as he cleared the corner. Leaping high, he launched himself into the air and flipped and twisted so that his feet landed on the street light. Kicking off he propelled himself down the street. In a flash he spotted four men and a large SUV. From the way they were looking into the alley it was clear that there were more of them in the alley.

Spotting a café on the side of the street, Ranma nimbly made his way through the empty tables, grabbing a steak knife off a table. Expertly he grasped the hilt of the knife before charging some ki into the weapon. Though he wasn't in Mousse's league, Ranma knew that he could hit any target that he had his sights on – and the stationary SUV was a large target.

Having spent a day in Okinawa, Ranko had a better idea of the lay out of this part of the city. She also knew that she only needed to go one block, then down two more before she reached the other end of the alley. Being faster and having a better mental map of the area, it was no surprise when the speedy redhead appeared at the end of the alley.

Despite the fact that the alley was sitting in the shadows of the southern building, there was just enough light for Ranko to see that Ozuma was managing to hold his own against his knife wielding opponent. Appling the basic evasion techniques that Ranma had taught him, the muscular boy was maneuvering his opponent so that the taller fighter would leave himself open to a counter attack.

The flash of the blade as the half-Chinese fighter advanced told Ranko that Ozuma was facing an experienced fighter. Though Ozuma was steadfast in practicing and using just judo, it was clear that his lessons with Ranma had told him how to read and manipulate his opponent. Ignoring a gaping opening and the usual counter, Ozuma stepped in, bypassing his opponent's guard. Were as most judo practitioners would have moved in for an arm bar to isolate the man's knife, Ozuma had decided to use a throw instead. Using the soldier's momentum against him, the muscular boy grabbed the man's wrist even as he crouched and spun. Standing up he pressed his shoulder into the man's extended elbow even as he pulled down on the man's wrist. Kicking his left leg back he used it as a counter balance and to sweep the other man off his feet as he flipped the man into the air.

The sound of air being forcefully expelled from the stunned man's lungs as he crashed into the ground was momentarily drowned by the sound of metal hitting brick as the man collided with the immovable wall.

"Well, it looks like this isn't just another Pussy Jap," one of the knife wielding man's companions said as he watched the Chinese soldier slide down the wall. "Still, it would be troublesome if some 2nd degree judo punk took one of us out."

"Hey, there's the Mark," one of the other men stated as he indicated the girl.

"Get Chou to the car," the first speaker ordered. "I'll make sure that the Mark comes after us."

Ranko wasn't sure what they were talking about, but clearly the soldiers had had enough – and that was just from Ozuma.

"Now," the muscular judo-ka said as he kept his focus on his primary opponent, "are you – Kosukegaw!"

Ozuma and Ranko watched as the apparent leader of the soldiers punched the runty boy, doubling him over. A punishing knee to the face though quickly changed his posture and forced him to stand upright once again.

'_Fight back_,' Ranko thought as she picked up the lid to a trash can.

Dazed by the blows, Kosukegawa's body reacted. Relying on muscle memory from long and extensive training with Ranma, the runty boy twisted and spun to his right, narrowly avoiding the overhead right that the half-Japanese soldier threw at him. Though he fell over, Kosukegawa managed to trip up his assailant as the off-balance man stumbled over the runty boy's legs.

Though Ozuma was closer, it was Ranko who saved Kosukegawa as she flung the dented steel lid. "Duck!" she shouted as the impromptu disc flew towards Ozuma.

Even with his back to Ranko, Ozuma knew that the busty redhead wouldn't just shout out orders without reason. Trusting her, he dropped to the ground despite feeling the urge to rush to assist Kosukegawa.

The experienced and highly trained soldiers did the same though, dropping to the ground as they spotted first the judo-ka do so then the steel lid that sped towards them. Flying over everyone's head, the projectile collided with the side of the SUV, giving Ranko and Ranma more time to advance on their friends' assailants.

"Withdraw!" the man that had assaulted Kosukegawa ordered as he pushed himself off the ground and to his feet.

With the steak knife firmly imbedded in the rear passenger tire, Ranma knew that the soldiers wouldn't be able to get too far. Two soldiers quickly piled into the SUV, leaving two more in the alley. And with Ranko's distraction, well, that bought him enough time to land a jump kick to the muscular bald soldier of mixed descent. Doubling the man over, Ranma expertly picked his pocket even as he threw the man into his companions in the car, thus preventing the soldiers already in the car from getting out as well as keeping those out of the car from getting in easily.

Instinct took over as the raven haired boy took a step back to avoid a punch. A quick kick to the face sent his attacker flying even as the lead soldier jumped onto the SUV.

"Go!" the man shouted.

"But" the driver started to object.

"Leave them!"

With his opponent dispatched, Ranma reached for the car, grabbing a hold of the still open door as the tires squealed against the pavement. Seeing a one of the soldiers pulling his gun out and taking aim at him, Ranma slammed the door shut. The sound of breaking glass drowned out the silencer enhanced gun as the soldier's arm and gun crashed through the window. The gun fell from the injured hand of the shooter, hitting the ground even as the SUV sped off.

"Ranma!" Ranko shouted, reminding the raven haired boy that he was needed here and to not chase after the fleeing soldiers.

"Kosukegawa!" Ozuma shouted. "He's been shot!"

X X X X X

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now. Yeah, it's been a while since I updated, but really, I think this should do for now. I promise to update before the end of the month.

Oh, and I do have a poll on my profile. Please vote on it.

Dreamingfox


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Notes –

Just a reminder, _'Italics'_ is thoughts, **"Bold"** is English, and _**"Bold Italics"**_ is Chinese.

X X X X X

"What a relief," Mr. Takahata sighed as he finally sat down.

"Though it's only a flesh wound, I do suggest that he goes to a doctor once he gets back to Tokyo," the doctor stated. "We've prescribed some antibiotics and painkillers but he'll need to take them with food."

"Okay." As the school nurse assigned to the trip, it was now Surmire's responsibility to ensure that her students were taken care of.

"As to the other boy," the doctor added, "we would like to keep in for overnight observation."

"Because of the concussion," Ms. Kisaragi finished.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "I understand that he's given his statement to the police already, but he'll need to stay awake for the next 24 hours."

"I'll stay with him," Mr. Takahata stated. _'I should have been out with the students – this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't stayed at the hotel.'_

X X X X X

For the first time in a long time, Ranma was nervous. Though he knew that Hideo and Ozuma's injuries weren't life threatening, he still couldn't help but feel a bit responsible. As their sensei and as their friend he needed to set things right. It didn't help that the assailants had disrespected the Japanese as a people and as a race. Still, it wasn't a master's duty to extract revenge for a street fight, especially against soldiers.

Looking at her 'brother's' face, Ranko knew just what Ranma was thinking. It helped that they were essentially the same person and regardless of the fact that they were currently in separate bodies due to the spring of drowned twin, but despite the similarities, there were vast differences between them.

Having listened to the feeble excuses that the police gave the teachers and the students, it was clear that they could not depend on the authorities to extract justice for this situation. Clearly things were very different in Okinawa than they were in Nerima.

Not only had the police claimed that the captured soldier was simply a tourist, but they had stated that the car that the man's accomplices had used was stolen from the military base. With no way to prove that the man was an American soldier, they could do nothing to find them aside from posting their images on the local news and hope that a resident had seen them.

"Kisaragi-sensei says that it's only a flesh wound," Kannami stated as the blond genius entered the room. "The bullet hit the dumpster and a piece of shrapnel from the dumpster embedded itself in his side. Aside from some shots and a prescription for painkillers and antibiotics, Kosukegawa should be fine. Ozuma had a concussion and will need to stay in observation for the next day or so. Takahata-sensei is going to stay with him tonight. Kosukegawa's changing but he wanted to see Ozuma before he left the hospital."

"I'll stay with him too," Osada stated as she stood up. "I-I don't think I can sleep knowing that he got hurt because of me."

"I'll go with you," Motoko said as she stood up and walked over to the taller girl.

"Why don't you two go with them," Ranma suggested as he glanced first at Sora then at Izuru.

Waiting for the other girls to depart, Ranma and Ranko glanced at Kannami.

"_**There's a hit out on you,"**_ the blond stated as he looked squarely at Ranko. _**"Well, not a hit exactly, more like someone's hired some mercenaries to see what you're capable of."**_

"_**So they're using the others to get to me?"**_ the busty redhead asked.

"_**It appears so,"**_ Kannami replied. _**"Ralph-san, the one who I contacted to test Motoko and HiFuMi, contacted me and asked if Kosukegawa was alright. He says that they targeted your friends to try and draw you out. Unfortunately Kannami didn't know that the squad had targeted Kosukegawa until they'd actually encountered you."**_

"_**So he knows where they are,"**_ Ranma growled.

The blond nodded. _**"They are stationed on the American base, but as they are on a mission, they could not return to the base until their mission was complete."**_

"_**So where are they?"**_ the redhead asked.

"_**There's a peninsula behind the base that's fairly isolated,"**_ Kannami answered. _**"The base uses it for war games and off base drills."**_ Pulling out a sheet of paper, he glanced around; making sure that no one else was listening in even though they were speaking in Mandarin. _**"There's a squad of eleven highly trained soldiers. But they've split up – they're going to try and break out their comrade that you captured, and the others are waiting for you here. The one who injured Ozuma is here"**_ he pointed to an abandoned building on the map _**"and the one who shot at you and hit Kosukegawa is supposed to be leading the break out team."**_

"I'm going to see the guy we caught," Ranma stated. Ranko nodded. As a master martial artist he wasn't allowed to seek out a fight with anyone other than another master, but if he were to help the police by watching a criminal, well, that was acceptable behavior. "But first I need to talk with Kosukegawa."

X X X X X

The sound of gentle, drowned out sobbing rang in Hino's ears as she and her new rival stood outside of the door to Kosukegawa's room. Though they could not hear the full conversation between Motoko/HiFuMi and Kosukegawa, it was clear that the boy was upset that his sense of justice had lead to his friend's injury.

The feel of a burning battle aura suddenly filled the hallway as Ranma marched towards the room. Though the master of the Saotome School of Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū was usually calm and collected, seeing him radiate such a heated aura was intimidating, especially for the two girls who had never experienced anything like that before. Unconsciously the two girls stepped away, allowing Ranma to enter the room unimpeded.

"Ranma!" Kosukegawa and Motoko/HiFuMi exclaimed.

"Don't 'Ranma!' me!" he shouted. "It's Ranma-sensei!"

Immediately the pair sat up, their backs rigid as they faced their sensei rather than their friend.

"It pains me to say this," Ranma growled, "but you're an embarrassment to the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū. What kind of man who preaches about justice and doing the right thing allows himself to be beaten up instead of helping his friend?"

Kosukegawa gulped.

"You're not a man – you're a coward! You bring shame to the dojo and to me!"

Hino couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't know why, but she suddenly rushed into the room. "That's not fair!"

Suddenly Ranma's normally serine blue eyes turned on her. No longer peaceful, the angry eyes locked on the petit redhead. "I was there – I saw him simply stand there as Ozuma was getting beaten up and he" he pointed to Kosukegawa "just stood there. He didn't do anything to try and stop them from beating up his friend and fellow student. That's simply unacceptable." Turning his eyes back to Kosukegawa he scowled. "You are no longer my student."

"Ranma!" the girls exclaimed in unison.

Turning around, Ranma marched towards the door. "If you really are a student of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū, than use what you know to enforce your justice. Otherwise you're just a coward.

"What would Kamen Rider think of you? Unwilling to stand up for what you believe in or to help your friend –you're and embarrassment to all Kamen Rider Fans as well."

Stepping out of the room, Ranma ignored his astonished students' protests.

"If you're dropping him that I'm leaving too," Motoko stated.

"Me too," Hino seconded.

"Fine, leave," he replied without a second though or look back. Closing the door he left the room and its occupants behind.

"Where are you going?" Sora dared to ask.

"I'm headed to the police station," Ranma stated. "I want some answers from the one man we did capture."

"Do you want some company?"

"No."

"Well too bad," Sora replied. "I'm not one of your students so you can't boss me around."

As the pair departed, Sumire couldn't help but wonder if her plan was working out better than even she had anticipated.

X X X X X

Kannami couldn't help but shudder as Ranma (and Sora) walked past him. As an intellectual and scholar, he had always been able to explain everything in scientific terms. Then he'd met Ranma and much of his world had been turned upside down. Magic curses, ki, chi, and all the unbelievable things that Ranma experienced on a daily basis were now entering into the blond genius' life, making his faith in science and the order that it imposed waver. Though he failed to understand the principles of magic or ki, he understood where Ranma was coming from in regards to chewing out Kosukegawa. The naïve Kamen Rider fan needed to test his belief and faith in justice. He had the tools, but now he needed to be tested. Either he would pass and become stronger or he would be forever broken.

Walking into Kosukegawa's room, he looked at the two girls and at his childhood friend. "So, what are you going to do?" he asked the still stunned Kosukegawa.

"Wh-what can I do? Ranma just dumped me as a student," Hideo replied.

"Yes, he did," Ranko said as she eyed the occupants of the room. "That also means that you no longer have to listen to him and that your actions from here on out no longer reflect upon him or the dojo. As students of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū you aren't allowed to go out seeking a fight, but now that you're not his students you are free to go after those who hurt Ozuma."

A mischievous glint appeared in Motoko's eye as Hibiki took over. "So that means we can hunt these bastards down."

Ranko nodded solemnly. "And I know just where they are."

Kannami shook his head. Rationally, this plan was completely stupid and reckless, yet emotionally, he knew that it was necessary.

"I'm coming too," Hino insisted.

"Me too," a new voice interjected.

The others turned to face the tall, tanned girl as she stood in the doorway.

"Fine," Ranko stated. "But we'll need to go back and sneak out of the hotel."

"It's not a problem," Botan replied, "I've already taken care of that."

X X X X X

"What's the plan?" Taro asked as he stood before Ranma.

"My 'former' students are going after the guys who hurt Ozuma," the raven haired martial artist stated. "Ryu, Ryoga, you two make sure that they're safe. If they get in over their heads you get them out of there. Ranko should keep them from getting into too much trouble, but I don't know how many traps the soldiers have set up for them.

"Taro, I want you to keep the police occupied so that the soldiers who are trying to spring their buddy don't run into any police. I want them all to myself."

Looking each of the martial artists in the eye, Ranma nodded. "Ryu, if things get sticky, you can use _it_."

Ryu nodded. "It's a good think I don't have my own dojo yet, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do things like this."

"Yeah, lucky you." Stepping out onto the balcony he hoped that the teachers would be too busy to actually check if the others were in their beds. As one of the witnesses to the incident and as Ozuma's instructor, no one doubted his right to meet the man that they had captured. It was up to Sora and the others to sneak past the teachers undetected. Then again, they had snuck into the boy's room the other night, so they shouldn't have any problems eluding the teachers again. A final glance back into the room told him that the others had already departed.

"Hey, how's Ozuma?" Saitou asked. As a fellow Judoka and as the only other student in their year in the Judo squad, the meaty boy was perhaps the second closest person to the injured judoka.

"He's got a concussion," Ranma stated. "The others are staying with him at the hospital along with Mr. Takahata."

"You're really going to go see the guy you guys captured?" Yamato asked.

Ranma nodded, "I have a responsibility to my student. This is all that I can do."

The other boys nodded, parting so that the martial artist could leave. By the time he crossed the street he spotted Sora as the Green martial artist waited in the alley. Walking in silence, he simply let the eager girl fall into step beside him as he headed towards the police station.

X X X X X

'_Things are slowly falling into place,'_ Ranko thought. _'If I play this right I could get Hibiki upset enough to merge with Zero.'_

Behind the busty redhead the other girls and Hideo followed.

Though Ranma wanted to push Hideo to improve and to actually use what he'd learned to help enforce his justice, Ranko knew that her other half also wanted to force Hibiki and Miriki to merge with Zero as well. This mission was more likely to favor Hibiki though as the aggressive girl was much more suited for things right now and she was the personality currently in charge of Motoko's body.

Looking back at the other girls and the scrawny boy, she eyed the group. Yes, all of them were skilled fighters, though Kosukegawa was unproven, but she knew that only she and Hibiki had ever faced trained soldiers – leaving the others as big wild cards. Though she did not doubt her ability to deal with even armed opponents, she wasn't sure how Hideo would deal with opponents armed with firearms.

Then again, with the others in the area, Ranma was sure to have sent some of them to assist and to keep things from getting out of control.

X X X X X

Never one to stay still too long (unless he was asleep), Ranma found himself in the cell next to the one that the man that he'd captured.

"Is that really necessary?" Sora asked as she watched the pigtailed boy stretching in the unlocked cell.

Ranma simply shrugged as he looked over the file on the suspect. Though he was only the head of a dojo in Tokyo, the officers had allowed him to help guard the man he'd apprehended. With only one officer left in the station as the others were forced to deal with a possible riot by the American base as news of yet another crime by suspected American soldiers against a Japanese student in Okinawa for a school trip was spread to the local news station, Ranma knew that his assistance would be very necessary.

"I know you're only here to make sure that I stay out of whatever it is that his buddies have planned for my sister," the raven haired boy stated, drawing a slight reaction from the professional soldier. "If I had to guess, I'd say that you spoke with the same person who put them up to targeting Ranko. I guess you all want to see just how good Ranko is and if you'll recruit her because your organization is made up of only women and that I'm the first male in possibly generations, so you don't really want to recruit me."

Sora froze. 'How the hell had he learned so much about us?'

"But," Ranma continued, "once you heard that I had a sister you became much more interested in her. And if she's even close to being as good as I am you'll recruit her and just save me as a breeding stud. Because, you know, I am a stud."

The captive man snorted.

"Hey, I managed to catch you, didn't I?" the pigtailed boy asked as he looked over the man's file. "_**'Lao Chang**_'," he read.

The man blinked.

"_**Born September 19**__**th**__**, 1989 in Beijing**_," the martial arts master added. "_**A very convincing background, but I checked your visa and it's not valid. Plus you're not listed on any passenger manifests with any of the airlines that fly into Okinawa or any of the boats that ferry passengers here**_."

'Lao Chang' simply lowered his head further, trying to ignore the young man who had captured him.

"_**And your buddy used a gun with a silencer**_," the young man stated. "_**Possession of a gun is illegal in Japan, but having a silencer would only make things worse. And we've got your buddy's finger prints too. One 'Jin Ho', businessman from Shanghai, who also isn't listed on any passenger manifests… just like you**_."

"_**They're going to kill you**_," the man stated. "_**You and your sister**_."

"_**I doubt it**_," Ranma shrugged off. "_**Your Mandarin is flawed. It's obvious that you've only recently started speaking Mandarin as you have a thick English/American accent when you annunciate the syllables. Plus you lack the proper flow and cadence when you speak – it's like you're thinking in one language before speaking in the other. I know how it is; I was that way when I learned Mandarin as well**_."

Seeing the man scowl, Ranma repressed a smirk.

"_**There's a reason why I didn't want the police here when your buddies come to spring you. And I know that they're going to spring you. Sure, they may not need you on the squad, but your commander wouldn't want the Japanese or the Chinese to get wind of the fact that the Americans have an elite squad of Asian Americans trained infiltrate and disrupt some Asian countries thus making it easier for the Americans to possibly justify taking action. Kinda like what the British did to India – create a military reason to take over another country so that they could take advantage of them economically**_."

The man known as Lao Chang simply glared at Ranma. "_**The riot that my friends staged is because I leaked out information to the press that American soldiers had assaulted a Japanese High School student in Okinawa for a school trip. Given how bad tensions are between the Americans and Okinawa, it didn't take much to provoke them to protest and riot. The same kind of disruption that your team is supposed to excel in – but this time it's going to be used against you**_."

Unable to speak or understand Mandarin, Sora simply watched the expressions on the two men's faces as they spoke. It was clear that there was something going on, but what?

"If you want to stay out of the action," Ranma said as he turned to Sora, "I suggest you find somewhere to hide now.

Sora glanced at him.

Suddenly the lights went out, leaving the building in complete darkness.

Grabbing hold of the iron bars, Ranma yanked out the side of the cell effortlessly.

Lao Chang simply gaped at the superhuman display.

Throwing the bars aside, Ranma swiftly stepped in and delivered a quick series of kicks that jack-knifed the man as he sent the air rushing out of his lungs but not enough to knock him out. Pulling out a silken cord, the pigtailed boy quickly bound the man to the iron bars.

"I guess you can just keep an eye on him," Ranma suggested as he walked out of the cell. "Stay here."

Sora nodded, taking his suggestion as an order, her mind still trying to process the inhuman feat she's just witnessed.

X X X X X

Ryu Kumon was happy. No, he was the happiest he'd been since losing to Ranma Saotome all those months ago. Even happier than when Ranma had contacted him and conditionally allowed him to use the Yamasenken and even promising to give him the scroll for the Umisenken as well as offering him a position at his new dojo with the prospect of being given his own dojo in the future. Yes, he had been happy.

But actually using the Umisenken (even though it was to steal the weapons from the highly trained solders) was exhilarating. The idea that he was now allowed to use such a dangerous and formerly sealed style made the young man happy. He was now the third master of both the Umisenken and Yamasenken. It didn't matter that he'd resorted to stealing weapons rather than actually fighting the soldiers, as the gathered soldiers were exceptionally weak and not even worth his time.

But next time, next time he'd get to use it in a real fight. Considering how tough Ryoga and Taro were, not to mention Ranma, he'd definitely get a chance to test out his techniques.

Now, if he could only find Ryoga…

Somehow the eternally lost boy had managed to wander off despite being told to sit and wait for Ryu to return.

X X X X X

Ralph was not happy. Looking over the reports that his experimental squad had sent him he had started to wonder if perhaps he shouldn't have allowed them to take the job. Yes, the job offered them a chance to blend in with the Japanese, and to even target someone who wasn't notable or who would garner too much attention, but something about the job just seemed, well, wrong.

The sinking feeling in his stomach wasn't aided by the news that Lee Chang, aka Lao Chang, had been captured or that Jin Xiong, aka Jin Ho, had dropped a silencer. Yes, the weapon had its serial numbers rubbed off, but that only made Jin Ho all the more suspicious. And the number of hits on both Lao Chang and Jin Ho's fake identities were already more than what was considered safe. Clearly someone thought that the two ids' were suspect.

Still, the situation was salvageable – so long as the entire unit returned to base. They didn't even need to finish the job, just return to their hidden base and lay low.

X X X X X

"**I don't like this**," the tall half-Japanese American grumbled.

"Quiet down," the other man hissed. "And speak in Japanese – we don't want whoever's out there to think that we're not Japanese."

"This sucks," the first man grumbled. "They got our ammo. All we've got left is a few rounds and the knives."

The second man suddenly stopped, holding up his right hand in a fist before pointing towards a tree several meters away.

Both men silently crept towards the tree in question, coming to a halt as a bandana wearing figure emerged from behind it.

"Oh, sorry," the boy grumbled as he zipped up his pants. "Do you guys know the quickest way to Tokyo?"

"You!" the second man growled as he pointed at the boy. "This is Okinawa you idiot! I told you that last time too!"

Ryoga blinked. "Oh, sorry," he said as he looked at the ground, "you see, I've got this horrible sense of direction."

Distracted by the lost boy, the pair of soldiers failed to notice the boy behind them. Then again, no one was supposed to notice him, not when he was using that technique. Two quick blows to the back of their heads rendered the men unconscious.

"Ryu."

"You were supposed to wait for me," the other boy stated. "Not wander off and get lost."

"But I only went to the tree to, you know," Ryoga grumbled.

"Then why are you over three kilometers away from where I'd left you?"

"Hey, it was only three kilometers," Ryoga shrugged. "At least I'm not back in the city."

Ryu shook his head. No wonder Ranma wanted him to keep an eye on the bandana wearing boy.

X X X X X

"There's four men on the grounds," Hino stated as she re-counted the number of shadowy figures scattered throughout the desolate apartment grounds. "I don't know how many are inside, but the ones outside appear to be on their guard."

"Looks like two more inside, one of them is the guy who shot you," Ranko glanced at Kosukegawa, her keen eyes able to spot the man of Chinese descent. "The other looks like the one who hit Ozuma. Why don't you two go in while the rest of us take care of the ones on guard," she suggested. "I'll take the eastern entrance."

"We'll take the two guarding the western entrance," Hino ceded as she glanced at Botan.

The taller girl nodded in agreement.

"So we've got a clean shot through the back door," Hibiki smirked.

"Why aren't their guards at the backdoor?" Hideo asked.

"It might be trapped, or there might be an alarm rigged to it," the energetic Hibiki replied, her eyes scanning the wall of the building. "We'll need to find an alternate entry."

The runty boy's eyes quickly followed hers up the wall. "Oh, no."

X X X X X

As a trainee within the family she was well versed in spotting and identifying various martial arts and fighting styles. As such she'd seen many feats of physical strength and had even been impressed by some of them. But seeing Ranma rip out the entire wall of bars was entirely different.

Having fought Ranma before, the young fighter had simply assessed him as being a Green fighter – someone who focused on speed (blue) and defense (yellow), but she quickly realized that despite what he'd shown her in their spar he had much more that she had yet to see.

The first of the assailants, a tall fighter of Philippine descent was the first to feel Ranma's wraith as the Eskrima fighter without even realizing it. Armed with two rattan staffs the Filipino fighter was definitely a light purple (master of attack and a specialist in speed) and would have given a true green like herself a run for their money.

Using his speed the nimble fighter quickly knocked out the lone police officer with slashing blow to the shin with his right, then a left knee to the his face. Throwing the man over a desk, he smiled at the pigtailed fighter.

Dashing in with a swift left slash into a right uppercut with the stick was flawless, leaving no room for a counter by even a bright blue. Yet Ranma had quickly managed to slip a powerful kick to the man's face, knocking the man back towards the entrance even as the man's accomplices rushed into the building.

"That was quick," the half-Japanese soldier that led the others stated as he eyed Ranma.

"Nah," the pigtailed martial artist shrugged as he moved to check on the police officer, "your guy was pretty slow."

Even from her view in the jail cell, Sora could see the remaining three fighters as they slowly circled around the pigtailed boy. The man on the right slowly circled around Ranma, shifting into a typical karate stance even as he navigated around the desks.

A lightning quick left kick meant to test Ranma's reflexes resulted in an unbelievably swift response from the pigtailed master planted his foot on the karate-ka's face even as he propelled himself at the lead soldier.

A gunshot rang out, knocking Ranma out of the air and sending him tumbling into a desk.

"Well, that was quick," the lead soldier smirked.

"Ranma!"

X X X X X

Teruharu Hideo Kosukegawa was terrified. Though he'd honestly believed in the justice that his fictional hero fought for, he knew that he did not have the power to actually enforce that justice. If he had he would have been able to keep Ozuma from getting hurt as he had.

"Just don't look down," Hibiki advised.

Gulping, he gripped the brick wall and looked up. The sight of Hibiki's shapely bottom didn't help, pleasant as it was. Nor did the sight of Motoko's pink panties peeking out from the tight shorts she was wearing.

Watching as Hibiki climbed up the wall ahead of him, Kosukegawa waited for her to reach the roof. Seeing her climb over the lip then lean over and look at him, offering him an encouraging look as well as her powerful hand, he desperately looked away from her ample bosom beneath the very tight tank top. It didn't help that she was going braless or that her nipples were very erect as they strained against the light fabric.

Gulping, he turned his attention to the wall before him. Reaching up, he pulled himself onto the ledge that separated the second floor from the first. The long night was far from over.

X X X X X

"Shit," the crude man exclaimed.

"What?" the muscular bald man asked as he turned his attention to his companion.

"Chong and Le haven't reported in," the first man replied. The mustached man eyed the radio.

"We're supposed to be under radio silence," the second man stated. "Le's probably taking a leak somewhere."

"Maybe they found a girl?" the first pondered.

"Nah," the bald man replied. "They know we're on the job and it's Chou who can't keep his eyes and hands off the girls. Chong's a professional – he'd never let a girl mess up a job."

"Do you think that the girl will show up?"

The other man shrugged, "I don't know."

"But who took the guns?"

Ranko scowled. Yes, Ranma had sent the boys in already. Still, it was only guns that they'd claimed – she'd still have her fun.

X X X X X

"Ranma!" Sora found herself shouting.

"Shit," the gunman exclaimed as he pointed his gun towards the jail cells. Turning his gun towards the girl he felt a sudden stabbing pain in his shooting hand as a stapler crashed into his wrist.

"You really think a gun's enough to take me down?" Ranma asked as he stood up. "But, if you're going to play like that, then I'm not holding back."

As if to prove his point Ranma rushed in, moving faster than anyone could react. A swift punch to the stomach robbed the karate-ka of the breath in his lungs as he was sent skyward. Not content to simply let the man off with just a punch, Ranma spun around, connecting with a spinning kick back kick that sent the man flying on top of the Eskrima fighter.

Crouching, Ranma suddenly launched himself at the man beside the leader of the soldiers, connecting with a palm strike to his target's chest. Though he sent the man flying, he wasn't out of the fight as the pigtailed fighter was forced to dodge the commander's attack. Only a quick glimpse of light reflecting off of the blade told Ranma that his opponent had armed himself, though his own reflexes had allowed him to dodge the attack easily.

"So, you chumps were sent to take out my sister?" Ranma asked as he focused on the commander. "They clearly aren't paying you guys enough."

Rather than verbally responding to the young martial artist's taunts, the commander darted in with his fierce combat knife.

"That's so weak," Ranma taunted as he sidestepped the attack, answering with his right elbow, slamming it into the man's face and breaking his nose. Spinning around, the master martial artist connected with a spinning middle kick to the other soldier's stomach. "But someone who fights just for money and profit is never going to beat me."

Growling, the commander threw his knife at Ranma, allowing him to free up his uninjured hand so that he could reach for another gun.

Scowling, Ranma deftly caught the blade before throwing it back in a swift motion, pinning the man's hand to the desk. "That's gotta hurt," he said as he punched the man hard, knocking him out and keeping him from screaming too loud. "If you guys are as good as you group gets, Ranko and the others should be done pretty quickly."

X X X X X

A/N

Eskrima is a fighting style from the Philippines that employs sticks, but advanced techniques involve hand to hand fighting.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


End file.
